Liam Gallagher performs live on stage during the second day of the Lollapalooza Berlin music festival at Olympiagelaende on September 9, 2018. Photo / Getty Images
Liam Gallagher performs live on stage during the second day of the Lollapalooza Berlin music festival at Olympiagelaende on September 9, 2018. Photo / Getty Images
He became instantly recognisable for his trademark rolling gait onstage and off, a braggadocious walk that spawned a thousand imitators.
But Liam Gallagher, the former Oasis singer, has said he would rather be pushed around in a wheelchair than endure the "stigma" of a hip replacement operation.
Fearful of losingthe rock and roll credibility accumulated during a career of smash hits, after-show parties and public rows with his brother and fellow band member Noel, he says he would rather live with the pain.
The Mancunian star, who suffers from arthritis because of a longstanding thyroid problem, has said he is prepared to defy the advice of doctors despite relying on sleeping pills to get through the pain.
Gallagher, who turns 50 in September, said: "My hips are f****d. I've got arthritis, bad. I went to get it checked and my bones are mashed up.
"The lady was going: 'You might need a hip operation, a replacement' – no way. You're all right. I think I'd rather just be in pain, which is ridiculous, obviously. I know that – just get them fixed.
"But it's also the stigma, saying you've had your hips replaced. What's next?"
Gallagher, whose band was one of the most successful of the Britpop era with hits such as Roll With It, says he would rather be pushed around in a wheelchair by his partner Debbie than have hip replacement surgery.
Liam Gallagher from Beady Eye performs at the Big Day Out, Western Springs, Auckland. Photo / Natalie Slade
He told Mojo magazine he was aware of the potential benefits of an operation undergone by thousands of people in Britain every year, but would rather put up with "a little pain".
"I'd be able to do it all after the op. I'd be like [dancer] Louie Spence, throwing my leg over my shoulder while playing the flute," he said, adding: "I don't mind a little pain. Keeps you on your toes. Pain is okay."
The singer said he was beginning to feel the ravages of age, with inflammation of the joints and pain in his calves forcing him to give up his daily runs on Hampstead Heath and seek treatment from an acupuncturist.
He said: "I'm definitely on the downwards slide, though. Oh yes. My eyes are f****d, my hips are f****d, got the old thyroid. When the weather's cold my hips are like, snap, crackle and pop. I need warmth.
"I can't sleep at night for the pain, tossing and turning. So I'm on the herbal sleeping tablets and they've saved my life. One of them: seven hours out – no pain, nothing.
"No, no. I can't [have the hip replacement]. Just the thought. They have to break your hips.
"I asked the lady what the downside was: 'You might die in surgery. It's a one in a million chance.' F*** off. I'm not going to crisp it having my hip cracked, thank you. I'd rather be in a wheelchair with Debbie pushing me around, like Little Britain."
