Gene Gallagher has already won. This young musician has not been intimidated by the music industry. He has wanted to go at his own pace. In a world where there are hundreds of music releases every week and songs are almost disposable, Gene has wanted to play by his own rules. As a member of one of Britpop’s most iconic families, he has wanted to soak up the musical culture that has always surrounded him. But now, the time has come to reveal his talent to the world through the band Villanelle. Together with several friends, Gene is captaining his first project in the music industry, which promises to be a huge success.
Interview taken from METAL Magazine issue 50. Adapted for the online version. Order your copy here.
There are unforgettable events, the kind that comfort you in bad times, memories you can take refuge in when life becomes monotonous and repetitive. I’m talking about the impatience of the thousands of people who surrounded the Royal Albert Hall in 2010 to see Suede, the packed Knebworth Festival that welcomed countless Oasis fans to see them play in the 90s, or when Pulp took their Common People to Coachella over a decade ago. To experience those moments of sweat, jostling, vibration and legendary music is something that sticks in the hearts and minds of those who lived through the rise of Britpop, a cultural movement that changed the music industry forever. Then things changed, and the children of this phenomenon arrived with Amy Winehouse, Skins, Keane and a whole younger generation who threw themselves into the craziest raves and demanded ground–breaking, excessive and honest music. From this latest batch came Gene Gallagher, the young and talented son of two living legends: Liam Gallagher, the iconic singer of Oasis, who continues to make solo history with every concert he gives, and Nicole Appleton, a member of the legendary girl band All Saints.
So now it is time for his son, who has also made his life his passion: music. Gene’s project has been kept under wraps for a few years and the expectations are enormous. Villanelle is the name chosen to bring together three friends on stage, three colleagues who, with no pretensions and a great desire to have fun, have come together to create a music group that has aroused the curiosity of the entire Internet, with the only video of their first gig accumulating thousands of streams on YouTube. This summer is going to be decisive, Gene and Villanelle will accompany Liam Gallagher on the tribute tour Definitely Maybe, titled after the legendary Oasis album. Gene is not nervous at all, quite the contrary. He knows what he wants to do and how he wants to do it, and music runs through his veins.
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Oh my God what a Tuesday! Mine has been intense, yours?
I’m not going to lie to you, mine has been intense too. I have had many many meetings. I’ve been a busy bee.
We have a businessman here!
Or at least I’m trying to be one (laughs).
I’m still a bit tired from the weekend. I’ve spent two days living nocturnally.
On the contrary, I have not gone out. I spent the whole weekend working, being a good boy.
I’m sure you have a way to spend the perfect weekend.
I never plan the whole weekend. My perfect weekend would probably be spent in the pub watching football with my friends. That’s perfect for me, to be as far away from work as possible.
Which is your favourite football team?
Manchester City!
Of course!
Are you in Madrid, right? They play tonight against Real Madrid.
Are you going to watch the match in the pub?
No, I’ve got rehearsals later. I’m going to set my alarm for as soon as kick-off starts, I’m out the door.
May the best team win!
Are you a Real Madrid fan?
No, I’m too gay for that! (laughs).
That’s great, but I have gay friends who also watch football with me!
The footballer gene went to my sister, who is a super fan of Real Madrid, she screams so much during the matches, it’s unbearable, I choke on my food if we are having dinner during the match.
Will she be watching the game from the stadium tonight?
No, the poor thing has to study. She’ll be sad for sure. We sent her a kiss from here.
Yes!
Hey, this summer you are going to present your band, called Villanelle, what’s that feeling like?
It’s been something that I’ve done for a while now, and I’ve just kept it secret. I just feel like it’s a bit of a… I just wanted to do it and get it right. I’ve just been holding it in for so long, all this stuff, and just saying I was going to do it. It’s a bit like, I’m getting it out there now, and then once it’s all out, then I can move on to the next thing that I’m doing. It’s nice to just get it out there now.
Not the least bit nervous?
Not really. I’ve got over the nervousness because I wanted to get it out for so long. The nervousness – I dealt with that years ago before I even released anything.
How would you describe yourself as a musician?
I just describe myself as just someone who just enjoys doing it, I guess. Like a lot of other people. I just like doing what it is. I just do it with people that also like doing it.
Where did you meet the other members of Villanelle?
Well, I’ve been looking for people that I enjoy hanging out with to make music with because I had all the songs pre-written pretty much already. It was just a matter of finding not really the perfect people, but just finding the people that I enjoy hanging out with to do it with. Because not a lot of my friends from home were into music. they were into other things and all that stuff. So it was only me. I was just trying instead of asking. So, I met my bass player when we were both skiing. He was on some ski trip, and we met each other in a bar. And he said he knew my brother, and he was into the music stuff as well. And then we came home and we just started rehearsing together. And then the guitarist, I just met through friends, through word of mouth. I just put word of mouth out there. And then I ended up meeting him in London in the bars we both go to.
So we can say that your bandmates are also your friends?
Yeah, they are my friends, but they’re not like home friends. They’re more friends that I’ve met along doing other things.
What would you say is the key to creating the best atmosphere to be in a band?
Don’t take it too seriously and always go to the pub afterwards. That’s the best way to create a good environment (laughs).
What’s your drink of choice?
My drink of choice at the moment is beer and all that. I go for a Guinness first of all, and then I swiftly move on to the vodka soda.
I used to drink vodka soda when I was younger, then I switched to gin and tonics.
That’s also very nice.
By the way, Villanelle, apart from the name of your band, is also the name of the well-known villain and fashion icon played by Jodie Comer in the series Killing Eve. Did you choose the name because you were a fan of the show?
No. Everyone says that, but I’ve never watched it. I think I should watch it to answer all these questions. I just like the sound of it, because it’s a French word.
Villanelle is a piece of chamber music composed in 1934 by Francis Poulenc.
It is such a musically French word.
The band’s songs are not yet available on any music platform and therefore I would like you to describe the genre in which they could be integrated.
It’s just alternative, just guitar, like jangly guitar music, I guess. It’s just alternative music.
Do you remember the first time you played together?
Oh, yes! It was awful! (laughs).
Why?
We didn’t have a drummer at the time, so my guitarist got on the drums, and we didn’t obviously have any drumsticks either, which I should have brought, because I used to play drums as well, but I just assumed things would end up working out. But we didn’t have any drumsticks, so my guitarist had to use a Buxton water bottle to play the drums. It was a bit stupid, but that’s what I mean. We were just having fun anyway (laughs).
I understand that your first real connection to music started with the drums. That you were a drummer boy.
GG: I grew up playing the drums as a kid, and then I moved on to guitar when I was about 14 or 15, and I played the guitar religiously more as my favourite instrument. But my dad obviously asked me to play drums for him on his tour, so I thought I’d do that as well. I’ve played guitar my whole life way more religiously than drums, but I also play and I can play drums, but I don’t practice it, really.
You have to tell me who your favourite guitarist is!
Who is my favourite guitarist? My God, that’s a good question. I think if I had to pick one, I’d pick George Harrison.
In my case I would say Jimmy Page and if we talk about my favourite Beatle, which I think is Harrison, for me it would be Ringo Star, like Marge Simpson.
Yes, you’re right, mine is Harrison.
Have you ever thought about Villanelle’s aesthetics, would you be able to define it?
I don’t know. I think our aesthetic is still working itself out for the time being. I guess you have to come to our gigs and see, but I guess that’s the rule, work itself out. If you like shaggy haircuts, I guess you’ll enjoy us.
I’m very interested in this part because lately the musicians I’ve talked to have told me that they really like to think about things like the logo of their band, the t-shirts and all the merchandise.
Yeah, definitely. Once we get a minute to just work on all the merchandise I guess we will figure it out. We’ve got some ideas that we’re cooking up at the moment.
You made a rather unusual comment earlier. You had the songs already written before you formed the band, what are the lyrics about, are there any themes you particularly like?
I don’t really focus too much on the lyrics. I think they just come with what other people can make out for them. I guess that’s what it means more. I think my lyrics are quite broad. It’s all about what other people think.
But would you say the lyrics are based on your own experiences?
Some of them can be, but I don’t really hold the songs to a specific story. They can mean all sorts of stories, I guess.
It’s a rather complex and unusual answer because as you know almost all musicians write about their life and about fucking love.
Yes. It just gushes out, doesn’t it? But it does. Some of them are difficult to do but most of them I do without thinking about them too much.
But I’m sure that some band has influenced you to create Villanelle!
A lot of Arctic Monkeys or Nirvana, those bands. My mum really got me into grunge when I was younger, so that’s why I liked guitar a lot.
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I saw the Arctic Monkeys last year at the BBK Festival, they were the headliners.
I saw them last summer in London too. They played at the Emirates Stadium. I think that’s my favourite concert ever.
Do you like music festivals?
I like music festivals. I liked Reading and Leeds Festivals and Glastonbury when I was younger.
The only thing about these festivals is that they are so long and require you to keep your mood up for several days in a row. It ’s exhausting. Have you ever been to one of those festivals where you sleep in a campsite?
I like that kind of festival with camping too.
But try to rest in one of those tents!
I hear you, man! It’s too hot inside, especially when it’s summer it’s hard, but It’s all about integrity (laughs).
And there are so many concerts and you have to try to go to most of them!
I end up missing pretty much everything anyway when I’m at a festival. I just stay in my tent.
I think I did the same during my first BBK because I don’t remember a single concert!
Oh my god, you must have been wasted!
Who knows! (laughs). By the way, now that we have talked about concerts, do you prepare yourself in any special way for your own? How do you prepare yourself during those special moments?
We just have a beer and just chill. I’ll just probably have a laugh. I’ll try and get one of my friends to the dressing room or something just to have a laugh with me or drink something together just to take me away from the fact that I’m performing, to take away the surrealness of it all.
And being a singer but also passionate about music, what does a band have to have to catch your attention?
It’s all about the looks, the clothes. As soon as I see a band in really skinny jeans, then I am absolutely done with them.
So, yes, these days, skinny trousers are absolutely the worst.
Yeah man, they’re terrible.
But they used to be something maybe a decade ago.
I think the issue of bands and the way they draw attention to themselves works in a particular way. I feel like with a good band, first they get the chicks to follow, and then the fellas come shortly after because the guys always want to impress a girl by going to their favourite band’s concert. Think about how you discovered a new band when you were in high school. First, you’d see the girls would be into them and then you get into them as well.
I imagine you’ve been very focused on your own project, doing your own thing. But I’m sure you’ve kept listening to The Who. I know you’re a big fan!
Of course I love The Who. They are the best.
Man, I’ve been listening to them recently and I like them a lot.
I’ve been listening to them all my life.
I discovered them thanks to the theme tune of the series C.S.I. if you can believe it (laughs).
I’ve been listening to The Who since I was born. My dad just drilled it into me. Please don’t ask me what my favourite The Who song is because it’s a crazy question and very difficult for me to answer.
Well, since you mention it – go ahead and tell me!
Let me just have a quick look on my phone, quickly, so I can have a quick order of all the ones that I’ve been listening to. What’s my favourite one? There’s a lot because I’ve got a playlist of all of them.
I’m sure there is one that can get you.
I’m sure it has to be one from the Quadrophenia album. It ’s my favourite – look, let me pick the whole album, I just can’t pick a single song really. I love Quadrophenia from start to finish.
Okay, come on, I’ll buy that answer. Is that album one of your earliest musical memories?
I can’t remember! I think one of my first memories would have probably been watching my dad’s concert when I was a kid, as a baby. My brother and I sat on an amplifier with big headphones on. So our ears wouldn’t bleed or anything. We were sitting there watching him play at the Isle of Wight.
Your father is a British fashion icon, I have no doubt that in one way or another you have developed too your own personal style.
I just keep it simple. I don’t really like wearing anything that has too much branding on it. I just wear plain stuff. I just like baggy plain stuff. I’ve worn this shit for fucking ages, so I couldn’t imagine myself in anything else.
Do you pay attention to fashion on networks or in magazines?
I don’t watch any other influencers because I don’t like being influenced by them. I like to enjoy fashion myself.
You have more than two hundred thousand followers on Instagram where you upload photos of your daily life and with your friends. What place do social networks have in your life?
I don’t really take it too seriously. I run it myself. I don’t let other people run it as much as they’d love to. But I just try and keep it as myself as I do because it is me. It’s not anything else.
I get the feeling that you are a guy with a clear vision and very personal ideas, why did you decide to form your own band instead of going solo?
Because going solo is just shit, I think (laughs).
Are you serious? (laughs).
I mean, I don’t really like any solo acts. I don’t know why I prefer to form a band but I do think that doing something on your own, doing your own act has something of a worship thing to it.
Were you one of those teenagers with the walls of your room full of band posters?
Yeah, I had loads. I had Jimmy Hendrix ones and all that, Beatles ones, Nirvana ones, all them. Lots of Artic Monkeys ones as well obviously.
By the way, we mentioned the Quadrophenia album that inspired a film directed by Franc Roddam in which rock star Sting played a celebrated role. Do you see yourself acting in front of a camera one day?
No, not really. I’ve never been into any of that stuff. I don’t know. I’m not some guy who’s trying to take his chance at anything that he does. I do music because I’ve always done it, and then I did the modelling stuff because it was just what we’ve been doing. So, I’m not going to try and do everything. I mean, maybe, who knows? It will be one day, I guess. But one thing at a time.
Many singers write songs for other artists, how about that?
No, because if you write a song, it’s personal, isn’t it? I think. I would never do that. I’ve had people ask me before and I said no. Music lives inside. If you’re going to write the song, you feel like you’ve got to keep it. If it means anything to you, then you’ve got to do it yourself.
Talking to you I can’t help but remember that when I was in high school my friends and I were really into post britpop listening to Radiohead, The Verve or Snow Patrol. Also loved Skins. In Spain there is a generation who dreamed of being Effy Stonem.
Yeah, Skins might have been just a bit before me, but I remember people liked it at school and stuff. I never really watched it, but I’ve seen bits of it.
What kind of films and series do you like?
I never really watch a TV show. I’m not really a TV show person. I’m not in my spare time watching a movie or anything. I don’t really do that. I probably just play guitar, but I do go to the movies every now and then.
You’re just a super into music guy. Your life is all about it and you have a summer full of concerts ahead of you, how are you coping with the preparations?
We’ve just done a mini tour last month, and we’re doing another little small one supporting some people at the moment, yeah. So this is giving us a bit of experience with it all. So yeah, it’s fun.
As your parents are two music icons, did they give you any advice when creating Villanelle?
I’ve had advice on how to not do things, but I’ve not had advice on how to do things. Do you know what I mean? I’ve not been told what to do, but I’ve been told what not to do in a way.
Now everything is a bit more cumbersome because people go everywhere with their mobile phones filming. You can see a whole concert on Instagram through people’s posts and stories.
GG: Yeah, I know. All the time. But you’ve got to just deal with it. Shit gets filtered 24/7. It’s one video, then another video, and then people forget about one video, then another one goes viral. It’s like people are constantly looking at really different things. I just see it as that. It’s not even that deep.
Do you spend a lot of time on your phone or do you barely look at it?
I’m always on my phone for certain people, and I’m not on my phone for certain people. I’m always talking to my friends and stuff. I’m quite bad with my phone.
Are you more into calling or texting?
Texting any day. I hate calling.
And what about reading your messages? I reply to most of them immediately like a fucking obsessive. It gives me OCD (laughs).
It depends. If the conversation is funny, then I’ll be on it every five minutes. But if it’s a serious conversation, you won’t hear from me.
And if I were to go to one of your concerts, what would you like me to feel during the show?
Really intoxicated.
Darling, I don’t need to go to one of your concerts to be like that (laughs).
That’s how everyone should feel at a concert (laughs).
I think that whenever you go to a concert I think it’s cool to pregame beforehand.
If you’re buying a ticket to go and see something you need to make a night of it!
Going to a bar near where the concert is is a super plan.
Or just sneak in a flask. Always sneak my flask inside a sock. No security guard searches the bottom of your trousers.
Yes, that’s the way to do it. Hey, beyond concerts, are you going to do anything cool this summer with your friends? Do you have any ideas for a perfect summer?
My perfect summer is that it all goes well, and then that’s all that I care about this summer. That’s my priority. I don’t care about anything else. I could happily sit inside for the rest of summer if that all went well.
I think in all interviews with singers they are asked about the industry. Do you want to go for it?
I’ve not really personally dealt with the proper music industry yet. I’m not really sure, but I’ve heard it can have its way with people, and it can also be quite good at the same time.
And what advice would Gene Gallagher give to someone who wants to start their own band?
There’s no rush. Yeah, that’s all I’d say because I would panic for it. Sometimes my situation might be different to other people’s, but I always panic about that a lot. People just tell me just to relax and not to rush it.
And then when did you realise that Villanelle was ready?
I wanted to unveil it during the tours, but I needed to get some practice in for gigs. I’d never really sang and played guitar before. So that was all that footage of my first two gigs. But I didn’t really expect everyone to catch onto it that quickly, but it is what it is.
I’m sure there are some good stories that happened during those gigs.
Oh, yeah. Basically, we were meant to be playing my second concert at Blue Posts in Soho. But I think the people that were running the concerts upstairs had been evicted or something. I don’t know. Something happened. And they basically said we couldn’t play there. I’d told all my friends to come there for the concert. We’d told a lot of people to come and they were already in London. I was like, we need to play a gig tonight, otherwise, we’ve messed everyone around. Me and my guitarist Ben, we were just going around London for ages trying to find somewhere. We ended up managing to get a gig at The Marquis, and that’s what that footage is going round of us playing there. It was literally off the bat. It sounded pretty shit, but it was quite fun anyway because we just got really drunk and did it.
Did you have to find a place to play on the day of the concert? That ’s fucked up!
Yeah, literally within three hours. We asked about twenty different clubs, and they were saying no. And it was a Saturday night, so everyone had been booked. Oh, my God. We were just asking and asking and asking and asking. Then suddenly, we got to the Marquis. It was fun.
You are a resourceful guy. I have to give that to you.
Yeah. Yeah. Because I don’t like cancelling on people. I find that very rude. Yeah, especially for your second gig, cancelling, I think is a bit pathetic.
This is just the beginning for you.
Yeah, it’s just the beginning. We’re only just starting out. I don’t even know how many shows we’ve done, but we’ve not done that many. I could count them with both hands.
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