FORMER Oasis rocker Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs has been tempted out of retirement to play a special gig in Scotland with singer-songwriter Pete MacLeod.

Bonehead, who left Oasis at the height of their fame in 1999, teams up with Pete for the Scot’s hometown concert at Coatbridge’s Soundwave studios on Saturday, February 25 ­— with Alan McGee as DJ.

The pals’ act came about after McGee suggested Bonehead check out Pete’s songs on MySpace. Bonehead, 46, recalled: “I’ve known Pete a few years. He is a friend of Alan McGee’s.
“Alan said he knew this singer-songwriter from Scotland that I would like. I checked Pete’s MySpace page and really liked what I heard.
“We ended up doing a tour together and it was a couple of the best weeks of my life. I really enjoyed it.”

Oasis’s former rhythm guitarist can’t wait for the gig, despite having played massive shows with Oasis and enjoying million-selling albums starting with 1994’s Definitely Maybe.
“With Pete it is a lot more intimate,” Bonehead explained. “It is just two guitars and one voice in front of a smaller crowd. I’m not planning on touring the world any more and it takes somebody a bit special to make me pick up the guitar and get on stage. Pete is a great person, great fun to be with and really intelligent. I love him. His songs are special.”

Pete, 33, added: “I grew up listening to a lot of bands Alan had signed and I looked up to him. I sent him a couple of songs and eventually met him in Los Angeles. We struck up a friendship. There are very few people I would take advice from because I am quite headstrong. I believe in my music and Alan does mentor me. I respect what he says. We talk a lot on the phone and it’s good to see Alan believes in me.

“I mentioned Bonehead’s name. Alan got in touch with him and that resulted in him listening to my songs. We struck up a friendship. We met in Manchester and rehearsed the songs. They sounded great and things took off from there.”

Oasis split in 2009. But Bonehead believes they should have called it a day immediately after two back-to-back sell-out shows at Knebworth in 1996.
More than 300,000 fans caught the massive outdoor shows after more than 2.6million people applied for tickets.

He said: “I didn’t walk out of Oasis. I drove out in the car. We had reached the heights, but I wasn’t enjoying it. The fun had gone. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that if I went on tour I’d be lying to the band and the fans.“You can’t be a member of Oasis and not give 100 per cent. We should have called it a day when we did Knebworth. That was the ultimate peak. We should have bowed out. The spark had faded and it was time to go.”
But he admits he would join Oasis if the Gallagher brothers ever decided to reform the original line-up. “I’m not for bands getting back together for the sake of it,” said Bonehead. “If a band is finished, a band is finished. But if Oasis did get back together and asked me, I would be up like a shot. I’d play with them but I don’t think that’ll happen.”

Pete used to live in San Francisco, but returned to Scotland to help look after his dad who has bladder cancer. Looking ahead to the show, he said: “It’s a hometown gig for me in Coatbridge and it’s a local studio with rehearsal rooms. I thought it would be a good setting to perform this acoustic gig with Alan and Bonehead.”

He is also releasing a single, Rolling Stone, which was inspired by the experience.
You can hear a video performance of the song, performed by Pete and Bonehead at the Daily Record – www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz

Pete said: “Alan has told me 2012 should be my year and that I have the songs and the talent. That is good but I’m not really in this for fame and fortune.
“I’m just happy playing my songs.”

Video Interview

via L4e / via dailyrecord.co.uk

[+] 0 comments

For Breaking Beady Eye|Oasis|High Flying Birds News Click Here

For Today's Music News Visit our Live4ever Webzine

Join Live4ever on facebook! Become a Fan