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Following last weekend’s news that Noel Gallagher has called time on his 18-year career with volatile baby brother Liam, here’s our perfect playlist from the Burnage cowboys’ back catalogue:

‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ – the wishful vision of a young Mancunian songwriter dreaming of stardom and signing on.

‘Lyla’ – 2005’s pounding glam-rock stomp that proved they’d found their mojo once again.

‘Shakermaker’ – their New Seekers‘ plagiarizing indie-psych classic.

‘Some Might Say’ – their first UK number one and still one of Noel’s finest pop songs.

‘Songbird’ – proof that Liam could actually write after the dismal ‘Little James.’

‘Do You Know What I Mean?’ – a bone-crushing wave of coke-addled pyschedelia from 1997’s Be Here Now.

‘Morning Glory’ – the Beatles-fuelled title track from their era-defining second album.

‘Acquiesce’ – the flipside to ‘Some Might Say’ and a reminder of just how much the Gallagher brothers relied on each other for their success.

‘Live Forever’ – An euphoric tale of love and friendship. Their greatest moment.

‘I Am The Walrus’ – their fuzz-drenched cover of John Lennon’s 1967 masterpiece was nothing short of breathtaking.

Check out this hilarious clip of Hitler’s reaction to the news of the band’s demise:

Sunday July 5

Tim & Sam’s Tim & The Sam Band Featuring Tim & Sam, Acrobatic Society, Dot To Dots (pictured) @ The Head Of Steam; The Inner Terrestrials, Secta Rouge, Maybe Myrtle Tyrtle @ The Cluny.

Monday July 6

Cage Those Kicks @ The Head Of Steam; Nashville Liverpool Underground Medicine Show @ The Cumberland Arms.

Tuesday July 7

The Forcefield Kids EP Launch @ The Head Of Steam.

Wednesday July 8

White Belt Yellow Tag, The Chemists, Sparrow & The Workshop @ The Cluny; Farewell To Felix, The Unstable Tables, My Tulip, Interlite @ The Head Of Steam.

Thursday July 9

Sour Pretty, Mata Hari Illusion, Widows, Revelry @ The Head Of Steam; Sleepy Sun, Night Of Sevens, Pioneers Of Mediocrity @ The Cumberland Arms.

Friday July 10

Jeepers Peepers: The Tournament Of Tease.

Saturday July 11

Bayonets, One Night Stand In North Dakota, Calcius Repton, July Rising, Let’s Buy Happiness @ The Head Of Steam; Real Ale & Cider Festival @ The Cumberland Arms.

Delivering explosive proto-punk and riff-laden psychedelic wig-outs, Texan three-piece White Denim are a phenomenal live band. Fusing the fuzz-heavy firepower of the MC5 with the hard-rock experimentation of early Led Zeppelin, they straddle the divide between prog and punk with absolute balance; a must-see.

Check myspace.com/whitedenimmusic

Raised in the suburbs of Gateshead on a diet of David Bowie and The Beatles, I’ve been a near-obsessive music fan for as long as I can remember. Really, I blame my parents. Even before I could tell the difference between rock songs and nursery rhymes I had a Dansette-style record player and a basket full of old seven-inches that included The Small Faces’ entire Decca catalogue plus early releases from The Who, Cream, The Pretty Things and The Rolling Stones (all thanks to my Mum’s youthful fondness for Mod and R&B). Read the rest of this entry »