Is Noel Gallagher Worth the Money?

I, like many people, were excited by the return of Noel Gallagher and his High Flying Birds. His first album may have not been exactly the most ground-breaking or original, but it was very enjoyable and you could imagine it being great live.

So with the announcement of his second album, it was inevitable that a tour would follow and I was considering getting myself some tickets. However, I refused to join my friends in purchasing tickets when I seen how much one was going to cost me.

AT LEAST 60 QUID.

And from what I was reading, after booking and process fees, it was nearly £80 for a standing ticket at The Hydro. I was absolutely shocked and angry at the price he was charging his adoring fans.

I'll put this in perspective for you, I went to see The Libertines for £61 at Hyde Park at their comeback gig - something so rare that tickets sold out so fast. As well as The Pogues, you got to see a bunch of bands for the day - albeit it was hard to see half the bands due to lack of organisation from the crap promoters.

Now some might argue, "Well Noel Gallagher is an undisputed legend of rock music. He was in one of the biggest bands of the 90s (Oasis) and he's one of the best known musicians in the industry." They would be correct, but does that mean that he should sell his tickets for that much? Of course not! He may have been in Oasis, but is he going to play Oasis material at a show? You'll be lucky to hear two Oasis tracks and even at that, I'll be surprised if it's better than with the rest of the band. So you are basically paying at least £60 to listen to two albums worth of solo work.

This is a man who was part of a band who "stuck up for the working class", yet he won't make his shows affordable enough to satisfy the common man.

If you want a better alternative, go see Johnny Marr. He was in a band as big as Oasis (The Smiths) as well as later playing in bands such as The Cribs, The The and Modest Mouse. Marr is too on his second solo album, yet his tour tickets are unlikely to surpass £30.

If I was paying 60 quid to see Noel Gallagher live I'd expect Liam Gallagher to duet, monkeys on unicycles and a Kate Bush-esque stage presence. But if I'm honest, I don't think Noel G suits dramatically throwing himself across a stage.

In my humble opinion, he does not merit such a price tag as of yet. If you were to spend that kind of money, you'd expect Springsteen, not a two-album wonder.