Skip to content
News

Hear Noel Gallagher Cover Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ For BBC Radio 2

Former Oasis guitarist's new album, 'Council Skies,' is out tomorrow
photo: Sharon Latham

Noel Gallagher has saluted his Manchester rock forefathers Joy Division by covering the band’s classic “Love Will Tear Us Apart” today (June 1) on the BBC Radio 2 series Piano Room. The former Oasis guitarist was joined by the BBC Concert Orchestra for the performance.

Gallagher said he felt compelled to reinterpret an old song in the environs of the BBC, but that he was initially “all Bob Dylan-ed out” and didn’t know what to choose. “I would play this song, this version of it, at home down the years,” he continued. “When they asked me to do it, I was like, ‘How can I get away with that?’ Because it’s such an iconic [song] and, being from Manchester, well, this is going to be tricky. But now I’ve got my own studio, [so] I went and did a little demo of it and I was like, ‘You know what? I think I might be able to pull this off.'”

It appears Gallagher has never covered a Joy Division or New Order song in concert prior to today, either with his band the High Flying Birds or Oasis. His BBC appearance was tied to tomorrow’s release of his latest album, Council Skies, which features two songs with former Smiths guitarist and longtime Gallagher friend Johnny Marr.

Click here to read SPIN‘s wide-ranging interview with Gallagher, who will embark on a North American tour with Garbage tomorrow in Auburn, Wa.