Liam Gallagher is playing drums on my head. I hear a few rhythmic taps, like he’s keeping time on the snare. There’s an occasional swish across the top of the bald napper, casual and cool, Ringo-style. This is happening by the doors of the Astoria on London’s Charing Cross Road and a few music fans are watching, bemused. As they might be. They’ve just been to a feverish gig by the band Ash, but here’s Liam, the most significant face in popular music just now, on the beat with a music journalist.
I’m thinking of a comedy precedent. When I was a child I would watch Benny Hill on the television, taking the rise out of his sidekick, Jackie Wright. The percussive head taps that Benny served out to Jackie were speeded up on film to humorous effect and because of it, the little Belfast entertainer was forever famous. So, this moment on the evening of August 18, 1995, is my own piece of minor acclaim. Continue Reading…