Noel Gallagher hits out at X Factor

1:39pm Tuesday 14th October 2008

Noel Gallagher has hit out at The X Factor for having "absolutely nothing to do with music".

The Oasis star accused Dannii Minogue, last year's winning judge, of being unable to recognise talent.

Gallagher, 41, told the Radio Times: "If somebody is dangling this carrot of 'fame and fortune' in front of a check-out girl from Barnsley who can sing like Britney Spears then they're going to go for it."

He continued: "But it seems to bring on instant mental illness. You're going in at the top, with a number one that sells 750,000 or whatever and you've got someone like Dannii Minogue telling you you're really talented - and if there's one person in the room who wouldn't know talent if it kicked them in the a*** it's Dannii Minogue.

"You spend a year slogging around the country and then what? You can't go back to Barnsley and be a check-out girl 'cos that would look bad.

"So you end up either trying to be an actress or trying to sustain your profile by going on celebrity shows."

He added: "Instead of instant fame and celebrity and all your ex-boyfriends and girlfriends coming out of the cupboard and your family being ripped apart, the prize ought to be, 'I'll introduce you to someone who might introduce you to someone who might, if you're very lucky, know a producer who'd record one of your songs'. That's the only way to make any money. Otherwise you sell five million records and earn 50 grand."

The X Factor "has absolutely nothing to do with music and everything to do with television", he said.

Gallagher also criticised Madonna, saying the star "has all the money in the world and yet she still works out six hours a day.

"Six hours! In a gym! You sleep for eight, right - so that's 14 gone already. What do you do with your one hour off?"

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