Reported by www.nme.com

Noel Gallagher admits to football hooligan past

Oasis man says he was part of a Man City ‘firm’

January 6, 2009

Noel Gallagher has said he used to hang around with members of some of Manchester City’s most notorious football hooligan firms before he signed a record deal.

The star, who was a regular on the Kippax Stand at City’s old Maine Road ground in his youth, said he still keeps in touch with some of the firm members now, reports The Sun.

“I knew all that lot and I still see a few of them today,” he said. “They were quite mad times. Half of us were on the dole.”

Man City hooligan groups The Guv’nors and The Maine Line Service Crew were some of the most notorious and feared firms in the UK during the ’80s.

The Oasis guitarist said he regularly used to wonder if he would get home without injuries after matches.

“The grounds we used to go to 20 years ago were dangerous, especially night games at Leeds and places like that, and wondering whether or not you’d make it home in one piece,” he said

Gallagher also admitted that he tried to start his own chants at Maine Road on several occasions, which he now attributes as being his first dalliance with songwriting.

“I did start a song in the Kippax when I’d had a drink,” said the guitarist. “Probably something like, ‘Everywhere We Go’ or similar and everyone joined in.

“So maybe the first seeds of my songwriting career were sown at the back of the Kippax.”

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My hooligan days, by Noel

Reported by thesun.co.uk

NOEL GALLAGHER has revealed he used to kick about with footie hooligans when he was on the dole in Manchester.

The diehard Man City fan confessed that he often found himself at away games with the feared Mayne Line Crew, Under-5s and Young Guvnors in the Eighties.

He said: “I knew all that lot and I still see a few of them today. They were quite mad times. Half of us were on the dole. The grounds we used to go to 20 years ago were dangerous, especially night games at Leeds and places like that, and wondering whether or not you’d make it home in one piece.”

But Noel reckons the experience might have played a part in his decision to become a rock ‘n’ roll star.

He said: “I did start a song in the Kippax (a stand at City’s old Maine Road ground) when I’d had a drink. Probably something like, ‘Everywhere we go’ or similar and everyone joined in.

“So maybe the first seeds of my songwriting career were sown at the back of the Kippax.”

Noel also holds his hands up for forgetting the date of the first game he saw.

He said: “I’d got it in my head it was 1971 when we beat Newcastle 5-1 at Maine Road but I’ve recently looked that game up and it was actually 1975.”

Back when telly was in black and white.

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Noel Gallagher on Hooligan past

Reported by clashmusic.com

Oasis guitarist and well known Manchester City fan Noel Gallagher has revealed in a new interview that he used to hang around with some of the club’s most notorious football hooligans, it has emerged.

Noel Gallagher has long been an outspoken fan of Manchester City, appearing with brother Liam in a photoshoot decked in the club’s shirts. The guitarist was a regular at the infamous Kippax Stand in the club’s old ground of Maine Road, and was apparently familiar with many of the top casual faces of the day.

“I knew all that lot and I still see a few of them today,” he told British red top The Sun. “They were quite mad times. Half of us were on the dole.”

Manchester City’s casual following was dominated by violent firms such as The Guv’nors and The Maine Line Service Crew, who were feared throughout the UK in the 80s.

“The grounds we used to go to 20 years ago were dangerous, especially night games at Leeds and places like that, and wondering whether or not you’d make it home in one piece,” he said.

Gallagher isn’t the only musician who ran with casuals – Beautiful South star Paul Heaton was involved with Sheffield United’s crew. One facet of Noel Gallagher’s life with the casuals does remain, however, with the Oasis songwriter boasting a massive collection of vintage trainers.

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*Foot note

Oasis star Liam Gallagher admits to Gazza attack

Reported by www.mirror.co.uk

2008