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It's been eight years since Liam and Noel Gallagher were making headlines for public displays of bad behaviour, and the duelling duo appears to be all grown up.

At one time, an interview with Liam, in particular, might have been viewed as a challenge. Liam is eight years younger, and back in the band's heyday, he would have been the one voted Most Likely to Implode. Public drunkenness, squabbling, cancelled tours, violence -- it was all in a day's work for Oasis back then. There was an incident on a flight, many more in hotels.

It was therefore a bit of a surprise, and a relief, to find a gracious, sober and low-key, albeit jet-lagged Liam ensconced in a Four Seasons hotel suite Wednesday afternoon. The core members of Oasis arrived that day from London, England, and split up to do interviews in preparation for tonight's show at GM Place.

Dressed in black, wearing big square-framed glasses (he has an extensive collection) and sporting an engagement ring studded with about a dozen big diamonds, Liam only drank coffee and answered questions in a Mancunian accent so thick with colloquialisms that a translator wouldn't have been out of order. It was bass player Andy Bell, seated nearby, who helped fill in the necessary detail.

Liam has been long engaged to former All Saints singer Nicole Appleton, but that doesn't mean he's all saint himself. He's still the edgy lad who likes to have a few drinks, talk dirty and regularly punctuate his speech with swear words. As to whether Appleton minds Liam going on the road and leaving her at home with the kids, it's a moot point.

"She hasn't got a choice, that's what I do. That's how I pay the bills, put food on the table," he says, sounding like a working-class bloke straight out of Manchester. Of the ring, he says: "My missus wants to get married at some point so I will grant her her wish."

When prompted, he takes off his eyeglasses to check the brand. (Burberry.)

"You want to see me necklace?" he asks, pulling a seriously diamond-studded initials-and-lightning-bolt pendant out of his shirt. "It's me birthday present. I'm f---ing like P. Diddy now."

He's obviously rich, but there have been setbacks, he says.

"I've been known to be richer but then I got divorced," he says. "That's life. It cost a few quid, but who cares?"

Oasis is touring to promote its new album, Don't Believe the Truth. It's hard to believe that the albums that landed them on the charts and made them a household name -- Definitely Maybe and (What's the Story) Morning Glory? -- are at least a decade old. The albums released in the interim have been less remarkable, but Don't Believe the Truth has managed to bring the Gallaghers to the forefront with its vintage Oasis sound.

"But I think we could do better than that," he boasts, true to form. "We have done better. We've just yet to record it."

But first, we must clear up a few matters, such as possible feelings of remorse for previous unruly behaviour.

"I made mistakes, but I don't regret them," he says, shrugging, slumped in his seat.

Such as?

"Walking off tours and stuff. At the time I thought it was right, you know what I mean? Getting a bit pissed sometimes and scrapping and getting your f---ing head kicked in, stuff like that."

And the airplane thing?

"No, I don't regret it. Because at the time I was having a good time."

At the time, remember, Liam was only 19, which might explain his reaction to sudden fame and fortune. He doesn't agree.

"I was well prepared for it, believe me," says Liam. "I thought I was the f---ing man. I still do.

"So when it happened it was like, 'You took your f---ing time. I been waiting for you, come on,'" he says, taunting an imaginary figure.

"It's great being in a band. It's great when you're successful, but even if you're not successful it's just f---ing great being in a band, full stop.

"But I also know people who fix cars for a living and they live a rock 'n' roll lifestyle, don't they? I was having fun before I joined the band."

Then there's the not-so-little matter of sibling rivalry. Liam has grown weary of that line of questioning, and insists that if they were still squabbling, we'd all be hearing about it. Eight years ago, Noel boasted of earning a lot more than Liam, due to the fact that he once wrote the bulk of the songs. (On the new record, Liam has turned in three strong songs.) Perhaps for the sake of peace, he insists that he and his brother do not discuss such things as money.

"I haven't got a clue what he makes. I don't care what he makes. He gets what he gets, I get what I get."

Bell interjects: "If you write the songs, you get more money."

"Everyone knows that, don't they? But I'm not in it for the money, I'm in it for the crack [the good times]. If everyone else was doing it for nowt [nothing], I'd do it for nowt. But considering some other [expletive] is making all the money off us, then I want a bit."

Would he consider collaborating with his recording-artist wife, Nicole?

"No," he says flatly, "It's not my scene."

In a sudden flash of naughtiness, he lowers his head and adds in a ridiculous whisper:

"But we collaborate most nights, sexually."

Time to get back to music and the album, which is earning comparisons to their smash 1994 hit Definitely Maybe. Bass player Bell, who joined the band in 1999, doesn't see the point. After all, aside from the Gallaghers, the entire band lineup has changed since then.

One personnel change is the drummer. The newest recruit is Zak Starkey, son of Beatle Ringo Starr. It's a well-known fact that the Gallaghers are diehard Beatles fans. Liam's son is named Lennon, after all.

Considering the Rolling Stones' recent creative comeback with the new album, could Oasis too become geriatric rock stars? It's worth exploring.

"That's the problem I had with the Stones, is that they never released that many records, but they'd still go out on tour. 'You're musicians -- go in the f---ing studio. You've got to come up with something good at some f---ing point.' So I'm glad they released a record that is good."

Bell: "I think when they first started getting too old 20 years ago, it was just 'they're too old.' But now they're pushing the boundaries completely. They're like pioneers, going into the unknown. And that's probably where we'll be in 20 years time."

Liam: "But it's the middle bit that starts to f--- you up. Once you get past [middle age] you start to look really cool.

Bell: "You have short hair in the middle bit and you look really ugly."

Liam: "They're looking like f---ing pirates now . . . you're never too old."

Bell: "Considering we don't move on stage, we'll have it easier than most bands.

Liam: "There are five Bill Wymans in this band."