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When Liam Gallagher says He's having Sid Vicious, what does that mean, does he dig him or not?

Liam was answering question What does He think of Sid Vicious - that all the context I have. I've a strong feeling that he does like Sid, but it's interesting, is this expression commonly used.

He tweeted just today ‘I’m having him’.enter image description here

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  • More context please? Like the rest of the quote, with surround text?
    – Astralbee
    Commented Feb 5, 2020 at 16:20
  • Liam Gallagher was widely quoted in 2017 as saying that he would love to have been Sid Vicious. Could that be what he said?
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Feb 5, 2020 at 17:12
  • He tweeted just today ‘I’m having him’. Apparently, considering comments below, He meant that he’s ‘better’ than Sid, whatever it means.
    – TRue Timo
    Commented Feb 5, 2020 at 17:43
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    It is worth noting that Liam Gallagher is very far from being a scholar of English.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Feb 5, 2020 at 18:58

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I cannot trace any source for the quote of Liam Gallagher saying 'I'm having him' about Sid Vicious, but I think it is fairly clear that when Gallagher uses that expression he means 'I very much admire him'. He was quoted in 2017 praising Bradley Walsh, a soap star, TV presenter and singer:

Bradley Walsh has spoken out after Liam Gallagher called him "cool".

Earlier this week the former Oasis singer slammed Pete Doherty for not being a real rock star, but when it came to Walsh told NME: “I’m having him! He’s cool man."

RadioX article

In 2010, Gallagher praised footballer Joe Cole:

"I think Joe Cole is a top player. He can always turn the game around, d'you know what I mean? So, yeah, I'm having him man. He's got a lot of energy."

Link

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The wider context of the quote would help, but in 1980s playground slang "having" somebody meant you were going to beat them up.

Jonesy was slagging me off at breaktime, I'm having him after school.

Given Liam's age and northern roots, he'd have used that kind of language.

But, as Sid Vicious died in 1979 when Liam Gallagher was 7, it is unlikely he means that. You'd need to consider the wider context.

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  • We only ever had them to lunch, tea, drinks or dinner.
    – Ronald Sole
    Commented Feb 5, 2020 at 16:16
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What they mean by "I'll (h)ave ye!" is I will beat you up or some other form of bodily harm. Very northern English slang.

The man turned to his agressor: "Wan't a piece o' me mate!? I'll ave ye!"

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The answer to the OP's question is that the expression "I'm having him" is open to various, even contradictory, meanings depending on who is speaking to whom. Some of those meanings are British (or Irish) English slang.

The actual meaning intended by the person using those words is highly dependent on context.

Unless you know the context, you have no hope of understanding which meaning is intended.

For a message to be transmitted effectively, the transmitter and receiver must both be switched on and be tuned to the same wavelength.

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