Liam Gallagher - Selling Out?

Liam Gallagher is a man who has never been far from the centre of controversy.

Since the day he burst onto the music scene as the lead singer of Oasis in 1994, he has split opinion and caused divide amongst music fans all over the globe.

Liam back on stage for the Manchester
 benefit concert earlier this year

After three years out of the spotlight, the younger brother has risen from the wilderness in 2017 with a new style, a new haircut and a new solo album, destined to be released later this year. But the emergence of Liam as a standalone artist raises some questions and will continue to, especially with the fanbase who have treated him like a king since he first began to cause chaos twenty years ago.

After all, it was just a year and a half ago that he posted this infamous tweet on the internet refuting claims that he would ever make a solo record - a promise that he had stuck by since his youth. He's reiterated the point in many interviews over the years too, saying he 'couldn't' because 'it would be lonely' and he that he 'prefers to be in a band'.

'As You Were' is scheduled for release on the 6th October this autumn. The lead single, 'Wall Of Glass', was released on the 1st of June and received positive critical acclaim, reaching 21st position in the UK charts. But the accreditation as to who wrote the song is where everything gets a bit foggy.

Surprisingly though, Liam himself isn't embarrassed to admit that the song wasn't all his work. In fact, it was hardly his work at all. In a recent interview with Dutch radio station 3FM, when questioned about putting the new album together, he reveals he was propositioned by record label Warner Bros. to travel to the U.S.A to work with co-writers, and agreed to it. Two of his self-penned tunes 'Bold' and 'Greedy Soul', which will be on the 12-track LP, were shown to songwriters Greg Kurstin and Andrew Wyatt, as a template for the sound that Liam wanted on the album. Then Liam says 'they came back with Wall of Glass and I liked it' - unabashedly revealing that he is singing someone else's song.

But Liam has songwriting credits for the tune - how so? Well, Edith Bowman found that one out when interviewing him for Virgin radio last month.

'There was too many cooks in the kitchen. I said 'this is the sound I want' and he said 'what do you think of (Wall of Glass?)'. And I said 'yeah, cool' - changed a few of the phrasings and that - cause they're American - and that was it.'

Co-writer Andrew Wyatt is the lead singer
 of Swedish indie band Miike Snow

Alright, so Liam used to sing Noel's tracks when he fronted Oasis. But this instance is completely different - because it says his name on the front. So if the songs aren't all his, isn't that a bit untrue to himself - or, on a bigger scale, to the whole of rock and roll?

Noel Gallagher himself once revealed his dismay when he discovered that singer-songwriter Jake Bugg - much from the same background as the Mancunian siblings - writes with people rather than his tunes being 100% authentic and working class. No doubt then that he won't necessarily be impressed with his brother's debut effort - even if co-writing is the trend nowadays, as showcased by other big names in pop - Ed Sheeran to name but one.

For some fans it won't matter - parka-clad rockstar and outspoken hero Liam is back on the scene for the first time in ages. And if the music is good then that's surely all that matters. For others though, the knowledge that this technique could be classed as cheating will leave a sour taste in the mouth after this record for a good while. It is quite a disappointment that this effort will not be as authentic as we first hoped for.

The definition of a sell-out is 'a person who compromises his or her personal values for money or personal advancement.'

Whether it's got that far yet remains to be seen. You may you love him or hate him, but the facts remain the same. Liam Gallagher fronted one of the biggest bands of the nineties and was unrivalled as the greatest frontman in the world in his prime. Here's hoping he's making this venture not for the fame and fortune, but because he's still got a lot left to give.