Noel Gallagher and his Oasis band-mates were asked to perform at a Tibetan Freedom Concert in New York during the time that the Britpop band were in their pomp but he was the only one to take to the stage
Image: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
Noel Gallagher is banned from setting foot in China and can’t perform any of his or Oasis’ hit songs due to being “enemy of the people”.
The songwriter upset authorities in the communist Asian country due to a charity concert he performed at in 1997.
He and his Oasis band-mates were asked to perform at a Tibetan Freedom Concert in New York during the time that the Britpop band were in their pomp.
Foo Fighters and Beastie Boys were the headline acts at the two-day charity event held at Downing Stadium on Randall’s Island in June 1997, with other artists such as U2, Radiohead, Bjork, Alanis Morissette and Blur also making appearances.
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The band was free despite being in the middle of a tour but Noel was the only member keen to take to the stage.
However, his appearance backfired in 2009 as Oasis were due to go on tour in Beijing and Shanghai before officials within the Chinese Ministry of Culture discovered he has appeared in the concert, branding them “unsuitable” to perform.
Reported by the Daily Star, Noel said: “I am enemy of the people.
“I only found out I was banned when Oasis got invited to go to China.
“We’d agreed to go and all the paperwork came and you had to send through a list of your songs and the Chinese government sent you back a list of songs that weren’t appropriate and we’d agreed to do all that.
“About a month before we were about to leave I got a letter saying you lot can come but you can’t because of this thing you did for the Tibetan people. I’d forgot I’d even done it.
“I’ve got a letter somewhere from the Minister of the Interior saying, ‘You are an enemy of the people,’ or something like that. The rest were invited with open arms.”
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Speaking about the solo experience, Noel, who provided vocals occasionally as brother Liam was lead singer of the band, felt like his segment lasted “about four hours long” as he performed between sets from Radiohead and U2.
He added: “I walked out on stage in front of 50,000 people and as I walked out I thought, ‘Why have I agreed to do this? I’m not even the f*****g singer. I’ve got a Marshall stack and I’m going to do Wonderwall and Cast No Shadow’.
“As I remember I only did about three or four songs but it felt like it was about four hours long. I was on in between Radiohead and U2, full bands.”
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