No regrets as Oasis admit they stole tunes

Rock'n'roll bad boys Oasis have confessed to stealing some of their best tunes from other artists - and dared one of them, David Bowie, to sue.

Noel Gallagher, the songwriting leader of Britain's biggest band of the Nineties, makes his admission in an interview to be published tomorrow in January's edition of Q magazine. He also talks frankly about New Labour and his troubled relationship with his brother Liam.

In the exclusive interview, Gallagher is challenged to admit lifting the main riff from Bowie's song "All the Young Dudes", a hit for Mott The Hoople in 1972.

"Absolutely," is his reply. "Course. I've had two songs out of that now: 'Don't Look Back in Anger' and 'Stand by Me'. And he's still not sued me yet."

Despite denying reports that he is worth pounds 40m, Gallagher admits his wealth has made him "lose the value of things". Worldwide success also seems to be boring the Mancunian, who doesn't appear to mind that the last Oasis album, Be Here Now, has sold considerably fewer copies than its predecessor (What's The Story) Morning Glory. "We'll be back to the hard-core fanbase," he says, before adding, "I'll tell you what, I can't record another big rock'n'roll album. And if I can ditch a few of these little kids that stand outside my house 24 hours a day then that'd be nice too."

When asked about his day-to-day interaction with his brother Liam, the elder Gallagher brother says: "We don't have any. As soon as we get off the road we can't get far enough away from each other."

Gallagher was criticised for being among the celebrities who met Tony Blair at a reception in 10 Downing Street shortly after the election. He says he went for a laugh. "I was there because the Prime Minister's invited me to his house for a beer. You've got to go, haven't you?" As for Mr Blair, "I'd like to say that he'd be a great leader for this country but something at the back of my mind tells me that the Labour Party will probably contrive a way to f- it up for themselves."