Bloc Party blast 'over-rated' Oasis

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Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke hit back after Liam Gallagher dismissed them as "a band off University Challenge".

Okereke told Uncut magazine: "I think Oasis are the most over-rated and pernicious band of all time. They had a totally negative and dangerous impact upon the state of British music.

"They have made stupidity hip. They claim to be inspired by the Beatles but, and this so saddens me, they have failed to grasp that the Beatles were about constant change and evolution. Oasis are repetitive Luddites."

Okereke, the son of a molecular biologist, studied English literature at King's College, London.

Asked about Gallagher's "University Challenge" remark, Okereke said: "Well, it's quite funny. It probably would have been a lot more funny had he not used exactly the same words to describe Travis a couple of years ago.

"Having said that, it's probably a very sad indication of the state of his mind.

"Why is it bad to better yourself? It's all about the weird way in which this country chooses to view the working classes. It is really daft to reinforce the idea that there is something cool about being dumb.

"The idea that your ambitions shouldn't extend beyond getting pissed and watching the football really irks me. It's this idea that to be authentically working class you need to be untainted by the airy-fairy ephemera of education. And it seems to be pretty unique to this country."

Okereke finds the situation so depressing that he plans to quit the country.

"When Bloc Party is done I am definitely going to move," he said.

Elsewhere in the interview, to be published on Friday, Okereke gave his views on drug-taking.

He said it was "hypocritical" for the press to be shocked by the pictures of supermodel Kate Moss allegedly snorting cocaine.

"Can there be anyone out there who has never had a line? Everyone I know has done it," he said.
"Cocaine can be very attractive, very seductive.

But for me it's bad news because that drug can really damage your voice. The drug I do enjoy taking is ecstasy, which gives a real sense of euphoria."