Former Oasis Liam Gallagher has arthritis and should replace his hip but resists: “I'd rather endure the pain”

Liam Gallagher, perhaps one of the most controversial British musicians of the last 30 years, surprised again with controversial and recent statements in which he confirmed that he suffered from severe arthritis but refused to undergo a hip transplant.

For the former vocalist of Oasis, the flagship brit pop band that dominated the charts in the United Kingdom during the 90s and early 2000s, having hip surgery is not very “rock and roll” so he prefers to endure pain and ride in a wheelchair.

Gallagher, now 49, was diagnosed with arthritis about three years ago, which is why he has been forced to stop running and take medicine to sleep. In a recent interview he confessed that he lived with severe daily pain.

But despite the advanced state of his condition, which doctors say requires an intervention to replace his hip, the rocker says he will not have surgery and that he prefers the wheelchair.

“My hips are screwed, I have arthritis, bad. I went to get checked and my bones are crushed. The lady said, 'Oh, I may need a hip operation, a replacement, '” said Gallagher.

The option is unacceptable for those who together with his brother Noel reached the top of world rock with Oasis more than 20 years ago.

“I think I'd rather just feel pain. Which is ridiculous, obviously. I know that. But it's the stigma, saying you've had your hips replaced. What's next?” , Liam added.

The youngest of the Gallagher brothers said he postponed the procedure after he was told he could die during the operation, where the hip bone is replaced by an artificial implant.

Taking the prognosis lightly, he joked that his fiancée, Debbie Gwyther, could act as his caregiver.

“Go to hell. I'm not gonna break it with a broken hip, thank you. I would rather be in a wheelchair, with Debbie pushing me, as in Little Britain,” he told the British media.

After the final separation from Oasis in 2009, due to constant fights between the Gallagher brothers, both Liam and his brother Noel have managed to continue successful solo careers, although never reaching the level of fame and relevance they had when they collaborated.

Liam formed a band called Beady Eye with several former members of Oasis, which was active until 2014 and left two studio albums. Then in 2016 he released his first solo album, a project with which he remains active.

However, in 2019 he was diagnosed with arthritis of the hips. Then, two years later she was told that she had a thyroid problem called Hashimoto's disease, which affects her singing voice.

The condition can also cause significant joint pain, and studies show that people who live with it may be at higher risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.

At the time, doctors warned Liam to run less in an attempt to help manage the condition.

But now Liam said that his doctors have asked him to stop running altogether, something that has affected his routines because he is a regular runner and he could often be found running near his home in Hampstead Heath in London.

“When it's cold, my hips are like pops, crackles and pops. I need warmth. I can't sleep at night because of the pain. I spend it pulling and turning. So I'm taking herbal sleeping pills and they saved my life. It took me one and seven hours away, no pain, nothing,” said Liam in statements for Mojo magazine.

Responsible for hits such as the iconic Wonderwall, and the now classic Cigarettes and Alcohol or Champagne Supernova — composed by his brother but immortalized by his voice — Liam says he tries to put the best face on his pain and undergo the treatments needed to cope with it.

“My novelty is Deep Heat. I tie it on my knees and hips, my calves, then I get into the steam room for as long as I could handle it,” said the rocker.

Liam says he doesn't care much about pain, keeping him alert, but he is aware that he is on a “downward slope”.

“Oh yes. My eyes are screwed, my hips are screwed, I have an old thyroid. But we're all going to die, aren't we? Or are we already dead?” , he told the magazine.

The question is ironic for a guy who became famous for singing songs about feeling supersonic (Supersonic) or living forever (Live Forever), but you could say that the music he made somehow will make him immortal.

“I'm not afraid of death, whatever it is. Why should you be? It's going to happen anyway. It's being afraid of being born,” says Liam, almost paraphrasing the famous voice-over with which he starts A Great Gig in The Sky by fellow British band Pink Floyd

“I'm going to keep doing what I do until I die. Or I'm reborn and become a wasp. Or a butterfly. Or turn it into a pack of damn fried prawns,” Liam concluded.

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