FILM REVIEW: Liam Gallagher, As It Was - HOME, Manchester.

If you’re one of the millions who love Liam Gallagher for his witty quips and arrogant swagger, then his biopic, As It Was, will not disappoint.

Gavin Fitzgerald and Charlie Lightening’s honest and emotional documentary, followed by an exclusive performance from the man himself, was live-streamed from Alexandra Palace to 280 cinemas across the UK last night. 10 years in the making, it charts how one of the most controversial frontmen went from the dizzying heights of his rock’n'roll years in Oasis to living on the edge, ostracised and lost in a wilderness of booze and bitter legal battles.

While touring in August 2009, just before they were about to step on stage in Paris, a guitar-smashing fight between the fractious brothers, led Noel to quit the band. At the time there was speculation that it was just another spat with even the band’s manager, Alan McGee, predicting that they’d come back together, but 10 years on Liam and Noel still don’t speak.

Despite the loss of their lead guitarist and chief songwriter, the band, and Liam especially, weren’t ready for their phenomenon to end. The remaining members decided that they would "not quit making music together" and redefined themselves as Beady Eye. As Noel’s solo career was taking off, Liam’s antagonistic confidence boasted that Beady Eye “could be better than Oasis”, yet after just two studio albums and only one UK Top 40 single they failed to live up to expectations and disbanded. Around the same time, Liam’s relationship with All Saints singer Nicole Appleton broke down after he fathered a child with Liza Ghorbani, and began a relationship with his then assistant Debbie Gwyther. With his professional and personal lives laid bare, with no band and no songs, Gallagher was lost.

Renowned for his love of drinking and drugs, the world was poised for Liam to take his "Oasis till the day I die” oath quite literally and spiral into self-destruction. But never one to conform, as his bubble burst, rather than cause the expected mayhem, he withdrew and contemplated a life in Spain. With his colossal ego bruised and worried that he was a “has-been”, Gallagher took some time to lick his wounds then confessed "The only way out of this mess is music”.

Fortuitously, in 2015, a video of Liam in a bar in Charlestown Ireland, guitar in hand, singing new material, began to turn things around. While not professing to be a songwriter, he’d penned a handful of songs which were, along with support from his girlfriend and manager Debbie, the catalyst for an apprehensive return to the studio. His first solo gig took place at The Ritz in Manchester just a matter of days after the terror attack in May 2017; although not mentioned in the film, Gallagher, who truly believes in the power of music to make everything all right, donated the proceeds from the gig to the victims and their families.

In October 2017, Liam’s debut solo album As You Were, was released to commercial and critical acclaim, achieving gold certification in it’s first week and having since gone platinum. He’s played to huge crowds at Glastonbury, staked his claim as a singer/songwriter, and seemingly found a more healthy, balanced lifestyle; “I obviously still like to have a drink and all that tackle, but I know when it’s time to go to bed now.” he jokes during a run on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

He’s proud of the fact that over 20 turbulent years he hasn’t become a casualty of the rock’n’roll lifestyle yet he still has fire in his belly and declares that he "wants to live forever”. Even if you’re not a fan, you’re likely to have some new found admiration for him after watching the documentary, which shows him in a different light to the one seen in the tabloids. He is candid, self-aware, at times humble and vulnerable, and always funny. Don’t expect any Oasis tracks during the film though, Noel refused permission to use them, discounting the possibility of a reunion any time soon.

As It Was is in cinemas from today.

Reviewer - Becs McNeill
on - 6/6/19