In August, the Reading and Leeds Festival will see Blink-182 and Liam Gallagher as headline acts. Blink-182 returns after a decade, while Gallagher marks his second headlining appearance following 2021. Despite their contrasting music genres, Liam Gallagher has a way of crossing paths and leaving an impression on others.
Reflecting on an old interview, Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge recounted a memorable encounter with Gallagher at a Detroit radio show where both artists were on the bill. DeLonge vividly recalled seeing Gallagher and his bandmates, clad in trench coats and Beatles-esque haircuts, entering backstage. Despite the initial clash of styles, DeLonge, influenced by Joe Strummer’s advice to broaden his musical perspective, embraced the moment.
“I remember sitting backstage and I’ve got my sideways hat on and nose piercings and crazy shit,” DeLonge recalled. “I hear the door open and here come all these guys in trench coats and Beatles haircuts and my first reaction is, ‘Oh, they look pretty cool’, but they’re not punk-rockers.”
After their performance, DeLonge ran into Gallagher again backstage. Recognizing Blink-182, Gallagher bluntly remarked, “You’re the best I’ve seen in America.” DeLonge, surprised but impressed by Gallagher’s straightforward punk rock demeanor, found himself drawn to Oasis thereafter, expanding his musical interests beyond punk.
“We go up,” he continued, “play our show, we weren’t that big of a band yet so we were really fucking rude in the funniest way, we would take those moments because 17,000 people are watching us that didn’t know who we were and we were playing with other bands so we’d just say really bad shit.”
Given their history, DeLonge should seize the opportunity to catch Liam Gallagher’s set at the festival. Gallagher’s current performances heavily feature Oasis’s early classics, commemorating the 30th anniversary of their iconic debut album, Definitely Maybe.
In related news, Dave Grohl was also spotted drinking with Liam Gallagher backstage.
