FESTIVAL goers will finally get to descend on Hylands Park in Chelmsford this weekend for V Festival.

With the likes of the Killers, the Stone Roses, Keane and Noel Gallagher, playing the main stage, the arena is set for a weekend of top-class entertainment.

Reporter Andy Welch caught up with Noel Gallagher for a chat:

AS one half of one of the most notorious sibling partnerships ever to hit the charts, Noel Gallagher became a household name in Oasis.

Nowadays he’s found himself a more comfortable – and less strife-ridden – niche with his new solo project, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, which will be taking to the stage at the V Festival this weekend.

When he started, he wasn’t sure about going it alone.

The name was chosen because he couldn’t bear to perform under just his own name.

He hadn’t even decided if his microphone would be centre stage, as he’d become so used to standing slightly in the shadows. “I’d got that role absolutely nailed,” he says, “standing there with my guitar, backing vocals, the odd song. I was absolutely brilliant at it.”

If there were nerves then, he can no longer remember.

“I suppose I always knew it was something I’d have to do,” he says.

“I knew I wasn’t going to be in a band – once you’ve been in a band the size of Oasis, what’s the point?

“The album was one thing, where I asked myself, ‘Am I comfortable singing ten tracks in a row?’ But that was easy, really, because I love being in the studio. The only obstacle was that first gig.”

On the afternoon of his first appearance, his beloved Manchester City beat their bitter rivals Manchester United 6-1, so any fears went out of the window.

“I haven’t looked back since the first note of the first song. My only worry was whether people would accept it, but they have,” he says.

“Any confidence I have on stage comes from the songs I’ve written. As the song goes, I haven’t got moves like Jagger. I’ve more got moves like Wyman. People at gigs either want to dance or sing, and I can make people do that.

“Plus, they’re not watching me anyway, they’re staring at the heavens singing their hearts out, and that’s magical. Lucky me.”

Saying music fans have accepted his new work is an understatement. His debut album has sold more than 600,000 copies, including more than 120,000 in its first week.

The debut by his estranged brother Liam’s band, Beady Eye, sold about that many in its first seven months.

Given Oasis gigs were more like carol services for the inebriated, emulating football terrace chants, the live arena is still where Gallagher’s music makes most sense.

Whether in smaller venues, arenas or at festivals all over the world – including V Festival – things very quickly turn into a mass sing-along. The extensive touring has meant some sacrifices, though.

“I watched City win the league in a wine bar in Santiago at 9am, and I’ll never forgive myself for that,” he admits.

There’s more to come from the solo project, with a second album already recorded – a more psychedelic collabor-ation with the famed producer Amorphous Androgynous. The album was meant to have been released already, but needs more work. Noel says: “Because I’ve been on the road, I’ve not been around to mix it, and the songs that have come through so far I’m not happy with, but we’ll see.

“I’m just going to enjoy the rest of the tour, and look forward to sitting on my arse next year.

“Being a solo artist is just fantastic.”