No Flash, and Liam Gallagher's Flowery Shirt Conundrum

by A New Band A Day on Mon, 2009/11/23 - 10:05am Post to Twitter

You too can meet Oasis’ Liam Gallagher! But only if you buy something from his new clothing range - then you can meet the surly, set-jawed man himself, in Manchester, next week. Parka-wearing gents, form a disorderly queue.

Now, I like Liam Gallagher. He’s one of the last proper rock stars - not despicably pious like Bono, not laughably wet like Chris Martin. He was a rock star who drank, swore, hit people - often his own brother - and sneered at all before him (ie us, who paid money to watch exactly this).

But there’s a logical problem here. On one hand, I would like to meet Liam, but then this anti-rock ‘n’ roll meet-your-hero promo makes me not want to meet him in any way. What is one to do when faced with a conundrum like this?

In the end, my concerns were decided for me, fiscally. "I’m not in it for the money," Liam said of his fashion line - and I, for one, believe him. The £675 that some of his coats cost is just to cover the overheads, right?

No Flash are a Manchester band, just like Liam’s was. They sing rock ‘n’ roll, like Liam did. In songs like Officer, they sing of their misdemeanours. Perhaps they have a lot in common. If they do, then in Officer they’ve gone to lengths to disguise it - this song has the urgency, vim and youth that Liam hasn’t displayed for a decade.

Magic In The Moonlight, despite having a Toploader-scented title, has howling guitars, a near-charming melody, and ambition to spare.

No Flash are the kind of band you hope will succeed because they connect directly to a section of the public that want the visceral thrills of primal rock ‘n’ roll. And as far as I’m aware, have no clothing range lined up for the immediate future. Phew.