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Regular-article-logo Monday, 23 June 2025

NOTHING HINDU ABOUT THE HINDU TIMES 

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FROM AMIT ROY Published 09.05.02, 12:00 AM
London, May 9 :    London, May 9:  Lyrics of the Oasis song, The Hindu Times: I get up - when I'm down/I can't swim - but my soul won't drown/I do believe - I got flare/I got speed and I walk on air Cos God gimme soul and all rock 'n' roll (babe)/Cos God gimme soul and all rock 'n' roll (babe) And I get so high I just can't feel it/And I get so high I just can't feel it In and out my brain, runnin' through my veins/Cos you're my sunshine you're my rain There's a light - that shines on/Shines on - me - and it keeps me warm/It gimme peace - I must say/I can't sleep - cos the world won't wait. Noel and Liam Gallagher, the brothers who make up Oasis, one of Britain's most popular bands, carefully selected the name of their new hit single, The Hindu Times, down to a tee - or, more accurately, a tee shirt. The Hindu Times, which was released on April 15 and was the first Oasis single for nearly two years, has just got to number one in Canada, having also topped the charts in the United Kingdom and in Italy. Curious to discover whether Noel and Liam Gallaghar, famed for their hell raising, room trashing and foul-mouthed behaviour, were about to sign up to the BJP and a promise of good behaviour in the future, Zee TV in London approached the brothers. The Hindu Times, it emerged, has, on the face of it, nothing to do with the Hindu times. The explanation given to the Indian channel was bizarre, even by the standards of rock stars. According to a senior Zee TV executive: 'Noel Gallaghar said that normally when the band records soundtracks, it gives each track a number. But on this occasion, it noticed one of the English technicians wearing a tee shirt with the words, 'The Hindu Times'. 'So, instead of a number they called the track The Hindu Times and the name stuck.' However, there might after all be a deeper sub-conscious link with India, suggested a knowledgeable Indian source from the pop world. 'Obviously, they thought The Hindu Times has a resonance with modern times and their music,' she said. A recent review by Neil McCormick, a national newspaper pop music critic, began: 'News that a mop-topped Mancunian (a native of Manchester) with a foul mouth was thrown out of London's exclusive Met Bar after abusing fellow drinkers and trying to start a fight with several giant bouncers could only mean one thing. Oasis are back.' He added: 'The bad boys of Britpop released their first single in two years, The Hindu Times, to a distinctly mixed reception...The public, nevertheless, has been voting with their pockets.' McCormick went on: 'I have to say I am on the side of record-buyers on this one... Oasis can be depended on to put some colour back in the cheeks of British pop music, particularly with Liam in such confrontational form.' The forthcoming Oasis album, Heathen Chemistry, which will not be released officially until July, has been played to McCormick under conditions of strict security at his home. The critic observed: 'It turns out to be a dirty, bluesy, heartfelt, singalong, rock-and-roll opus that represents a vast improvement on the last two Oasis offerings.' There are many highlights, including the epic ballad Stop Crying Your Heart Out, which Liam promises will be number one when England are knocked out of the World Cup.' The personal lives of the brothers attract as much attention as their music. Liam Gallagher, the lead singer of Oasis, has had a stormy relationship with his actress wife, Patsy Kensit. The couple has a son, Lennon Francis, named after Liam's hero, the Beatle John Lennon. Their child's godmother is the actress Liz Hurley. The couple has endured a stormy relationship since they announced they were an item in 1996, a year after they first became friends. Public rows - including the time when Kensit kicked Gallagher's BMW in the street after he was reported to have spent the night at the home of the model Kate Moss - raised doubts over their relationship. They married in April, 1997, but temporarily separated last September after Gallagher allegedly threw his wife and her son out of their £1.25 million home in north London. The couple was reunited five weeks later after the singer promised to end his hell-raising lifestyle.    
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