- 4 weeks ago
'Oasis: Don't Look Back In Anger' directors Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern take NME inside the making of their emotional new film about the biggest comeback tour of all time, the magic of Noel and Liam Gallagher working together again, and the importance of paying tribute to Bonehead and Stone Roses' icon Mani.
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00:00They really cared about putting on the best show possible for the fans and they came in,
00:05Liam walked in on his first day, dropped his bag and said right are we getting on with it
00:09and then they blasted through the two-hour set during the outro to Champagne Supernova,
00:14picked up his bag and walked out while the band was still playing and we were kind of
00:17what just happened? The way it finished went acceptable. He didn't sit right with me man.
00:25I just don't see myself on stage with Liam. I don't really want to be going back with the tension.
00:32Will it fall apart again?
00:35Hi I'm Andrew Trendle, you're watching NME. We're here today with Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern,
00:40the directors of the beautiful New Oasis documentary Don't Look Back in Anger. How are we doing?
00:45Good yeah. We just got back from Venice Film Festival late last night so we're doing as well as we
00:51can.
00:51Well I was going to say bon giorno. I mean how was it walking the red carpet with Liam and
00:56Noel,
00:56eight minute standing ovation? It was wild. I've been to film festivals before but nothing's quite
01:03like Venice. It's the fancy one so it was an amazing experience. It was pretty mad outside on the red
01:10carpet when they kind of appeared. We were there slightly before them and then it sort of took its
01:18own life really. And there were Oasis fans camping alongside the red carpet waiting for their arrival
01:25which I don't think happens that often at Venice. But take us back to well pre-split. I mean what
01:32did
01:32Oasis mean to you in the 90s and the noughties? We were both teenagers in 94 when Definitely Maybe came
01:38out. I remember first seeing them probably in NME you know and pre-internet just seeing a picture
01:45of them and thinking oh they look cool. Yeah. And then NME gave away a tape creation records tape so
01:51I got to hear them and I was like oh they sound cool I need to see them and I
01:54first saw them in
01:55Holodelphi. Oh the venue. I think it was before Definitely Maybe came out I think they'd released
02:00Supersonic and it was such an amazing gig and like you couldn't not be swept up in that back then
02:06you know
02:06there weren't any bands that kind of looked like they came from the same background as me and
02:10had that kind of attitude and it's easy to forget what a huge phenomenon they were when they first
02:16came out so they're yeah a big part of my teenage years. And then the day we thought we'd never
02:20come
02:2116 years later reunion on the cards you would have been among the first people to know about it I
02:27mean
02:27how did that feel did you like is this real? Well I mean yeah at this at that point when
02:33the uh the
02:33announcement for the the tour came you know the film was a hadn't been discussed so I like everyone
02:39else I was on the phone trying to get a ticket. We had had a conversation slightly prior to that
02:44where someone said I can't tell you what this is but a huge thing is going to happen and if
02:50it does
02:50would you be interested in being involved which is was so vague we were like yeah I mean sounds good
02:59when we finally found out what it was it was you know a no-brainer it was an immediate yes.
03:04And that's quite a heavy burden to tell this the story to end all stories.
03:08Yeah so it's an easy yes and then you start thinking you know as Noel says in the film about
03:13the tour he says oh it's very easy to kind of announce the tour and to put out the picture
03:19and
03:19sell out the tickets but now we've got to do it and I think with the documentary we felt exactly
03:23the
03:23same way very easy yes but then it's like oh my god we don't want to be the ones who
03:29get in the
03:29way so much that we you know mess things up like you know so it was yeah a lot of
03:35thought was put into
03:36how we approached the film. Well shut up and play the hits you know captured the energy of what
03:41everything was going on around LCD sound system during that goodbye meet me in the bathroom a very
03:45kind of visceral retelling of you know you could almost smell new york in the in the noughties
03:50what did you set out to try and capture about this to kind of set it apart from other music
03:54docs it's not like any music doc i've seen before. Well we wanted to we wanted to tell their story
03:59of
03:59you know obviously everyone knows the background that kind of long time apart um and that was that
04:07was kind of what was unique about this and we obviously knew that the tickets had sold out instantly
04:12and it was just going to be this huge moment but i don't think we quite knew what it was
04:17going to
04:17feel like to be in the rooms you know in Cardiff and in those stadiums around the world so it
04:23was
04:23kind of we wanted to certainly you wanted to capture the experience of of being there you know we wanted
04:30it to feel like what it felt like you know in Wembley or in Cardiff or wherever. But every decision
04:36was made
04:36creating an authentic feeling in mind so whether it's the rehearsals that had a very different approach
04:42to the shows with the rehearsals this genuinely was other than the photograph that launched the
04:48tour it genuinely was the first time they've been in a room together for 15 years so we needed to
04:53be invisible and we needed to put our cameras in place set them off and disappear they didn't see
04:57a single member of our crew for those six weeks and we wanted it to feel as close to what
05:02it would be
05:03like if there weren't cameras in the room as possible. When we got out on the road on the tour
05:08we knew that millions of people had tried to get tickets and had been unable so we wanted to
05:13capture the tour and the shows in a way that felt as close to being there as you possibly could
05:18and then in terms of the other element which is the conversations that we and Steven had with the
05:24bands you know we did interviews before the shows before the rehearsals even started during the tour
05:30and towards the end of the tour and that was an exercise in gaining trust so that they would be
05:36you
05:36the Gallaghers are always going to be honest and authentic but we hope to sort of capture their
05:42emotional experience of the tour and that took you know building trust with them yeah well that's it
05:48i mean because many people might go into this expecting a kind of Hollywood reveal of when they
05:53you know the first time they're in the room together of like a kind of a dust-up or maybe
05:57an
05:57embrace or maybe you know there's no tears there's no fighting it's just business as usual isn't it
06:01i think it's them that's that's you know it's it's very honest that's what happened when they when
06:07you know liam walked in the room and they kind of got on with it and we asked ourselves the
06:13same
06:13questions that everyone was speculating about like are they gonna fight what would that be like for the
06:17film you know will they make it through to the tour and stuff but the answer was really obvious you
06:21know that they really cared about putting on the best show possible for the fans and they came in
06:27liam walked in on his first day dropped his bag and said right are we getting on with it and
06:31then
06:31they blasted through the two-hour set during the outro to champagne supernova picked up his bag and
06:37walked out while the band was still playing and we were kind of what just happened but um but you
06:43know
06:44that's oasis you know and that's sort of that british unemotional thing of like right let's just get on
06:52with this you know the emotion comes later yeah when the reaction of the audiences which i don't
06:58think they were expecting to be at the level they were hits them and then suddenly it reveals you
07:04know another side to to you know two people we know very well well that's it i was at cardiff
07:09and it
07:09how i like how the film tells you that when they walk out arm and arm like noel was totally
07:13taken
07:14aback by yeah yeah i mean it was spontaneous um and noel kind of has the same experience as the
07:21people in the crowd do you know it's like it's taking everyone by surprise that that feeling in
07:26the room in cardiff um yeah it was a good one to be at i mean he actually says in
07:30the film i wish i'd
07:31been able to call a timeout and go back to the dressing room because i just completely underestimated
07:36what this would be and um you know i think we did as well standing standing in the crowd and
07:42filming
07:43just you felt something beyond anything i've ever felt at a live show it felt like the crowd needed
07:50it as much as they wanted it and when did you sense it really really thawing because obviously it ends
07:55you know with them with their relationship bonding better than ever but when did you start to notice that
07:59things were clicking and they were a unit again and they were i think affectionate again that kind of
08:04happened across the tour you know obviously cardiff there's a huge nervousness from everyone how's
08:11that how's it going to work is it going to work and then across the tour you you see them
08:17on stage you
08:18know as they play those songs and as the crowd get to experience those songs in different places their
08:23relationship getting closer and closer i don't think you could have an experience with your brother or
08:30friends where you receive so much love and kind of um excitement from the crowd that where it wouldn't
08:37pull you closer together so really it was you know as cheesy as it sounds the music that brought them
08:41back together you know and the crowd's reaction to that music and you see it happen across the tour
08:48for forgiveness is hard it costs us something
08:57one of the biggest moments of our lives right
09:03i feel like i'm exercising demons getting it all out rage just pure anger i need to calm the down
09:17one thing i really really liked was obviously that there's so many different themes to the film
09:21as well as you know forgiveness and it's all about the music and you know you tell the stories of
09:24the
09:24fans too but i really like the bit where liam sets out and says one thing we're not is this
09:30kind of
09:31right-wing division that's going on you know everyone's at war with each other there's you
09:36know everyone's trying to pull each other apart whereas these shows are about togetherness i really
09:41like that because it just felt that like nothing mattered outside of those stadiums and i think
09:45you captured that really well well that's what it felt like in inside the stadium it sort of felt
09:50like for those two or three hours it was like pure joy or escapism or you know uh sort of
09:57like
09:58going to a football match and everyone supports the same team and everyone wins it had that feeling
10:03and i think like that is is absolutely that idea of experiencing something together as as a whole
10:11kind of was was a huge part of what the tour was about really it sort of felt it felt
10:17timely
10:18you know after card at cardiff was pivotal for us in making this film because we suddenly realized
10:22we're dealing with something that's you know huge but different to what we were expecting and and we
10:29started asking the question well why did why why what is it about this moment now and i feel like
10:33oasis have a habit of coming along at the right time when they turned up in 94 they were such
10:37a
10:37breath of fresh air you know and coming back at this point it it did seem that those shows allowed
10:45people to release something that you know i don't know what it is but it but it created something
10:49special and i really liked the um section that's a tribute to manny yeah i thought that was a very
10:55very sort of heartfelt classy move you didn't it didn't need to be in the film you know it's an
11:00oasis
11:00film but it's so important that it's there i mean for me for starters what was it like to be
11:05on the
11:05road with the guys when the news that manny had passed broke and then how important was it to them
11:08to that is not just them the whole crew yeah the day it happened you could feel you know this
11:15this
11:15feeling of grief amongst the whole crew or shock um there was there was a an energy in the crowd
11:23in
11:23the stadium that night that kind of yeah it was pretty amazing to be to be there you know you
11:29could
11:30sort of you can tell when you see in the film how much he meant to them um so yeah
11:35that was always it
11:36always felt like it had to be part of the film and my another highlight for me is uh bonhead
11:41finally
11:41gets his due yeah well he's just such an important ingredient to the real oasis power and it's just hard
11:47to believe that we've been without him for so long he's such a character as well you know during the
11:52early days of shooting the rehearsals like bonehead yeah i just always went to bonehead it's like what
11:57what's bonehead doing now and and it is true you know his guitar playing is such a core component of
12:04of you know the dynamic of that sound and as noel says in the film at the dynamic of the
12:09band you
12:10know he's he's like liam and noel he's a sort of natural comedian um and yeah i think it's great
12:16that they kind of um doff their hats to him i would watch a whole documentary about the next project
12:22make a sequel make a spin we'll make one for you my other highlight was when it's the interview with
12:29liam and then it was an interview with no and it pans out and they're both there that must have
12:33been a
12:33really special thing to film like that yeah i mean they hadn't actually they hadn't sat down together
12:39and done an interview for quite a long time before the split actually you know so it'd been 20 odd
12:44years so getting the two of them on camera together was a was a brilliant thing to to be able
12:49to kind
12:50of get for the film but also it was great just to see them being themselves together and you can
12:54feel
12:54in the film that it's genuine that you know that's that's that relationship's come back together and
12:59it's sort of uh it's kind of like you imagine they were on camera together back in the day you
13:05know
13:05yeah yeah that was it and um the other bit where they their relationship's better than ever now
13:10they said they're sending each other like whatsapp videos and and asking about that's quite nice yeah
13:15it's amazing and and you know you could see that venice which has come back from venice film first of
13:20all and you know they're having a great life together um and it's it's you know the film's about
13:26reconciliation and forgiveness and it's great to see where did you find that priest no no one will ever
13:32believe this everyone i read a review and it's like this uh thing with the priest it's obviously
13:37set up for the film but we went to burnage our second unit director is from burnage he's a really
13:42good friend of ours called colin o'toole but we went to st bernard's church in burnage where um i think
13:47their mum still goes there sometimes and we just popped in and met father luke and said can we come
13:53back
13:53and shoot a mass one morning he said yes i'll come back and the only date we could do i
13:58think it was a
13:58thursday morning mass now the sermons from the bible that they read out are selected long before
14:05at the vatican you know so long before we were going to turn up and film yeah so the particular
14:10one
14:10he was doing on the only day we could go there and shoot was and peter went to jesus and
14:14asked how
14:14many times must i forgive my brother who sinned against me and then he built a sermon around the
14:19gallagher's relationship and that's the day we were there to film it and i mean it was a brilliant
14:24sermon and it spoke to so much of the themes of the film um that you know we we kind
14:30of had to
14:31include it and obviously you know liam's endlessly using religious vocabulary like biblical and you
14:38know so it celestial um it just felt like and and the gigs were religious experiences you know and it
14:45just felt like we had to include that did he get guest list for that he's coming tonight yeah oh
14:48wow
14:49great i'll look out for it do you reckon he'll come in like full doc collar and he's actually a
14:52slayer fan
14:53his favorite band is slayer yeah so he might he'll either be in a dog collar or a slayer t
14:58-shirt
14:58amazing good combo or both yeah do you imagine that there's eventually maybe i don't know is
15:05that we're going to get some deluxe footage do you think we can get like like you did with
15:08show them play the hits will we get like a concert dvd as well i mean i love physical media
15:12so i hope
15:13so but we haven't had that conversation yet but but i mean there is you know there's an embarrassment of
15:18riches in terms of what didn't make it into this film so hopefully someone gets to people get to
15:23see that at some point there's gotta be a live album in there i hope so yeah because that was
15:27it see it in imax by the way because the way it just hits you yeah yeah i mean it's
15:31a shot it's
15:32shot for spectacle and it's shot to put you right in the middle of the crowd so if people can
15:36watch
15:36it on the biggest screen possible as loud as the cinemas prepare to play it then they're going to have
15:41a good time and um you guys have made some amazing music docs i mean is there any artists you're
15:47killing to work with or a story that you think hasn't been told yet that's it that's an interesting one
15:52every time we make a music film we sort of have always thought right well we kind of we've sort
15:57of done that you know um and you want to make sure that there's actual story and that was kind
16:02of it's
16:03kind of what's the story if you took the music away and with the gallagher's there's a huge story so
16:07i think i think we get asked this question a lot and it it's we don't kind of make a
16:11list of who we'd
16:12like to work with it's kind of it kind of emerges organically the first wave of voices inspired like
16:18another generation of guitar bands and kind of got people back out to gigs again do you feel that
16:22happening again that i mean i hope so you know i think it'd be hard if to go to those
16:27concerts and
16:28not think i want to pick up a guitar and start a band weirdly that's what our last film meet
16:34me in the
16:34bathroom was kind of about you know can bands and scenes emerge in the same way they did pre the
16:40internet
16:41and um i hope like this encourages kids to pick up guitars and you know make music and
16:48um yeah we'll just have to see well and dylan thank you so much thank you thanks guys appreciate it
16:55got to try and ignite something you know what i mean
17:02you've got a chance to change the narrative of the band
17:11that i know we are fearful people
17:14you