Guys, prepare yourself for this shocking breaking news that you will just never believe…Noel Gallagher has something aggy to say about a female pop group! I know, so off brand, right? The former Oasis singer gave an interview to The Sun this week bashing Little Mix for winning Best Group at the Brit Awards earlier this year.
‘Little Mix, with the greatest respect, are not in the same league as Oasis. Not even in the same f*****g sport,’ he said. ‘It’s a symptom of the music business chasing the numbers – and there not being any bands or songwriters in those bands.
‘Record company guys constantly say, “Oh, these guys are the real deal”. And I think, “You wouldn’t know the real deal if it f**ing bit you on the a**, mate”. I don’t know what happened — I think it’s because bands are hard work.’
It’s an interesting take on Noels part, to be so downtrodden by the fact that a female pop group have won Best Group, given that Little Mix are literally the only ever in history to take such a huge moment in British music, a celebration for the legacy of girl bands everywhere, and make it such a personal attack on ‘real’ bands feels… backwards.
Because, how are the ‘real bands’ really affected here Noel? Not only have Oasis won the Best Group award themselves (back in 1996, but still) they’ve also been nominated for the award four times over the years. Bands like Oasis may well be ‘hard work’, but they still receive more nominations and wins at the Brits to this day than girl bands ever have.
More than that, his criticism of Little Mix is just… lazy. Little Mixes have writing credits on all of their six studio albums, their biggest singles ‘Wings’, ‘Shout Out To My Ex’ and ‘Heartbreak Anthem’ included. And it’s not just the occasional tweaks either, according to Jade Thirlwall.
We write and co-write our music, we don't just sat in the room or done one line.
‘We write and co-write our music,’ the singer tweeted in 2015. ‘When a hit like Black Magic comes in of course we'll take it [but] we've written on every single bar the last two, not “sat in the room” or “done one line”… WRITTEN. So take your uneducated opinions, start a band, write music, graft for years and see how far it gets you.’
Jade makes an important point too, because it’s not JUST about song-writing. Little Mix do that too, but that also belt out perfect harmonies and put on extremely high-energy, incredible shows that would outperform most male bands that simply drone down a microphone in jeans and an old t-shirt.
To criticise Little Mix’s win after a decade of hard work and successful albums to show for it – a win in its own right given how few girl bands remain on top of the charts for that long – is just a perpetuation of the same old music snobbery based on the most arbitrary indicators of ‘good music’ – which is particularly ironic when women, and female bands in particular, are so often gatekept from liking and creating rock music by men that embody Noel’s opinions.
People love their music, Noel, and they’re finally being recognised as an incredible British talent despite decades of snubs for other globally successful girl bands – just let them have this one.
Read More:
All Of The Times British Girl Bands Were Snubbed At The Brits In Favour Of Men
Little Mix Make History As The First Female Act To Win Best Group
Little Mix On Racism In The Music Industry And Body Image After Lockdown