Noel Gallagher joins Mantra Of The Cosmos for new single

Noel Gallagher joins Mantra Of The Cosmos,  featuring Zak Starkey, Shaun Ryder, Bez and Andy Bell, on the collective’s new psychedelic single Domino Bones (Gets Dangerous).

Domino Bones (Gets Dangerous) marks the band’s latest outing following the singles Gorilla Guerilla and X (Wot You Sayin?) in 2023.

Shaun Ryder takes on lead vocal duties with Happy Mondays bandmate Bez on percussion. The group has Andy Bell of Ride, Oasis and Hurricane #1 on guitar and Noel Gallagher joins on vocals for the new single.

The band will showcase the track at the Cavern Club in Liverpool on 19 January and the single will be available for fans to purchase, in red or blue vinyl, at the gig and from the Cavern Club store.

Free Bird For Mods

Zak Starkey has had stints in The Who, Oasis, Johnny Marr and the Healers and The Lightning Seeds. He also collaborated with his father in Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band during the early to mid 90s.

Starkey describes the song as “Free Bird for Mods”, with a Noel Gallagher vocal, around which Starkey built the track, playing drums, bass, guitar and keyboards. Gallagher sings the chorus and Ryder the verses, while Bell adds an extended solo. The song title is the name of Bez’s first band.

Starkey said: “It’s not every day that the greatest songwriter of my generation – not to mention Shaun, the greatest beat poet of our times – sends a tune to me… It came together great – everyone digs it!”

Noel added: “Mantra Of The Cosmos is like Dylan, Dali and Ginsberg on a rocketship to the moon to have it with the Clangers.”

Family Heritage

Starkey has only visited Liverpool once before to visit his grandparents, and at the Cavern Mantra of the Cosmos will play two sets on 19 January, at 3pm and 8pm, with Bell and Ryder scheduled to DJ in between. The night will be compered by Philip Regen, AKA “The Queen Of Scotty Road”, and support will come from Liverpool band Keyside, as well as Chloe Slater for the later set.

The choice of show for the band’s return was a personal one for Starkey, who says: “Can’t believe I’ve never even been there. There’s a great deal of family heritage at the Cavern aside from The Beatles my parents courted there…

“It’s great to be playing there and they’re great people, really looking after us. The Cavern was rebuilt but it’s the original in spirit and I’m buzzing to be doing it.”

At a time when grassroots venues are under huge financial pressure, with many closing or at risk, Starkey champions their importance for new music. He added: “It’s what’s missing now in music – there should be Caverns everywhere. You used to be able to play almost every night of the week without a record deal.”

Rock Supergroup

Starkey said: “I first met Noel in a rehearsal room, John Henry’s in Brewery Road in London. I was in a band called Face during Britpop times and it was early 1995 and he came in and watched a bit. I met his brother for the first time at Oasis’s Earls Court shows in 1996. We’re Mods so we got on straight away.”

Starkey began drumming for Oasis in 2004, playing on Don’t Believe The Truth and Dig Your Own Soul.

In 2015, Starkey met Shaun Ryder during the filming of a returning TFI Friday. Starkey was the bandleader for a group featuring Liam Gallagher, Roger Daltrey, Ian Broudie, Bonehead, and Jay Mehler, which played My Generation.

Starkey said: “Shaun was on the show, and we literally said hello for five minutes and then a photograph – and that was it. Then I just cold called him about this group, which I didn’t want to be about guitars – I wanted to be about his words. He immediately said yes. I asked if his mate (Bez) was going to be in it and he said: ‘He doesn’t know yet – but he is.’”

In 2023 Mantra Of The Cosmos launched with the singles Gorilla Guerilla and X (Wot You Sayin?), and a Glastonbury Festival debut. Further singles are planned for 2025.

Domino Bones will be exclusively available on vinyl at the Cavern show and from the venue’s website here

Check out our 2024 interview with Black Grape