Noel Gallagher dislikes Harry Styles, while Harry Styles seems unaware that the onetime Oasis rocker exists. The one-sided feud continued in a recent interview, when the UK’s most quotable curmudgeon suggested that Styles isn’t a ‘real’ songwriter.
“You’re not telling me Harry Styles is currently in a room somewhere writing a song,” Gallagher said. “With any joy, he’ll be surrounded by a lot of girls.” He added, “I can assure you he’s not got an acoustic guitar out trying to write a middle eight for something.”
According to Gallagher, Styles’ whole fame rests on a television show, The X Factor, that’s “got nothing to do with music, it’s got nothing to do with music whatsoever, and anything that has come from that, that’s got nothing to do with music.”
This isn’t the first time he’s taken a swipe at the former One Directioner. In 2017, one of Gallagher’s complaints about his own generation left Styles catching strays. “People of my age have let themselves go, they’re fat, balding idiots with fading tattoos,” he said. “They sit in their garage and write shite like ‘Sign of the Times’ for Harry Styles. Which, quite frankly, my cat could have written in about 10 minutes!”
He continued, “I don’t mind the song. My wife was falling over herself, ‘Have you heard Harry Styles’ new song? It’s like Prince.’ I was like, ‘Without even hearing it, I can assure you it’s not like Prince!’”
Gallagher has been salty about the state of music for a while now. In another recent interview, he claimed that rock music is now a middle class pursuit, saying, “Working class kids can’t afford to do it now.”
Last year, his band Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds dropped the greatest hits album Back the Way We Came: Vol 1 (2011-2021). On New Year’s Day he shared a demo of a new song, “Trying to Find a World That’s Been and Gone: Part 1,” which inspired his brother Liam to tweet, “Miserable arse cheer up you billionaire.”
As for Styles, he’s gearing to release his new album Harry’s House, due out May 20th. The first single, “As It Was,” was our Song of the Week.
