The Britpop brothers' decades-long feud could be behind them - if they can stop looking back in anger.
The Britpop brothers have long been at odds - but with rumours of a reunion now confirmed, can they put to bed their decades-long beef? With Oasis Vol. 2 imminent, the Herald takes a look back at the Gallagher feud.
Fifteen years after brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher called time on a little project called Oasis, rumours of a “definitely, maybe” comeback have now officially been confirmed - if the two can finally put an end to their feuding, that is.
In an announcement to Oasis’ social media on Tuesday, the Gallaghers confirmed they are reuniting for a series of shows next year, with tickets going on sale this weekend.
The post came at 8am (UK time) on August 27, as teased in a cryptic video shared by the brothers and the band’s official account the day prior. The flickering, 11-second video of the date “27.08.24″, followed by “8am” (7pm NZST), featured the same font and style as Oasis’ branding - fuelling already rampant speculation a reunion was forthcoming.
“This is it, this is happening,” the announcement read, followed by a second tweet: “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised.”
At the time of writing, Oasis will be performing 14 dates across the UK between July and August next year, with the first concert scheduled for July 4 in Cardiff, Wales. The two dates in Cardiff will be followed by four dates in the band’s hometown of Manchester, before taking on London’s Wembley Stadium for a further four dates in late July and early August.
The next two shows are slated for August 8 and 9 in Edinburgh, Scotland, with the tour concluding in Dublin, Ireland with two dates on August 16 and 17.
“This is it, this is happening”
— Oasis (@oasis) August 27, 2024
Tickets on sale this Saturday 31st August (🇮🇪8AM IST / 🇬🇧9AM BST)
Dates:
Cardiff Principality Stadium - 4th/5th July
Manchester Heaton Park - 11th/12th/19th/20th July
London Wembley Stadium - 25th/26th July & 2nd/3rd August
Edinburgh Scottish Gas… pic.twitter.com/5hRQ3sJihb
The news came just days after the Sunday Times reported that anonymous industry insiders were “adamant” that a reconciliation between the feuding brothers was on the cards. The insiders claimed the band would reunite for a series of summer concerts in the UK, including several dates at Wembley Stadium and a headline slot at Glastonbury Festival.
Liam, 51, only added fuel to the fire when he replied to a thread on X about the article, saying, “See you down the front.” He also shared the cryptic tweet, “I never did like that word FORMER.”
Another hint came on Sunday when, during his performance at Reading Festival, Liam dedicated the Oasis song Half The World Away to his estranged brother Noel, 57. The aforementioned announcement video was also emblazoned across the screens at the end of the set.
The trail of crumbs and subsequent confirmation have sparked a frenzy on social media, with fans old and young sharing their excitement at the comeback - 33 years after Oasis, then a five-piece, first formed in Manchester in 1991.
The guns have fallen silent.
— Oasis (@oasis) August 27, 2024
The stars have aligned.
The great wait is over.
Come see.
It will not be televised. pic.twitter.com/FaELtNlVMh
Amid several line-up changes, the Gallaghers - the only constant members throughout Oasis’ 18-year run - were among a collective of British musicians hailed as the initiators of Britpop, a mid-90s cultural movement and musical phenomenon characterised by catchy alternative rock and overt Britishness. The “big four” of the movement were considered Oasis, Blur, Suede and Pulp - leading to an intense, highly publicised rivalry between Oasis and Blur that was dubbed the “Battle of Britpop”.
But the Blur-Oasis feud had nothing on the clash between the Gallaghers themselves, with primary songwriter Noel and lead singer Liam consistently making headlines for their tumultuous relationship - peppered with back-and-forth brickbats, public spats and several scuffles.
On August 28, 2009, Oasis officially imploded - the band breaking up minutes before a scheduled performance at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris.
“People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer,” Noel wrote in a statement at the time.
Over the past 15 years, the brothers have continued their respective careers, with both (sometimes begrudgingly) still performing their classic hits - separately. The possibility of a reunion had been floated twice previously, once in 2015 and again in 2018. Despite there being nothing to show for the previous rumours, fans appeared convinced the third time’s the charm - and on Tuesday, they were proven right.
With an Oasis comeback now “definitely” happening (as long as the Gallaghers can keep their truce until next July), let’s take a look back at a (condensed) timeline of the brothers’ decades-long feud.
As documenting every fight over a 30-year period is nigh impossible, here’s a brief rundown of all the major moments.
The brothers bickered throughout an interview with NME’s John Harris - including about how much they hated each other. A year later, they released the audio of the interview as a 14-minute bootleg single, Wibbling Rivalry.
During a concert in Los Angeles as part of the Definitely Maybe tour, Noel stormed off the stage and briefly quit after Liam - who had been barbing both the band and the audience - hit him on the head with a tambourine. Noel rejoined the group later on in the tour, which was the band’s first in the US.
At some point during the recording of their seminal second album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, Liam brought a group of visitors from the local pub into the studio. After trying to get them to leave so he could concentrate on working, Noel ended up hitting Liam on the head with a cricket bat.
After pulling out of Oasis’ MTV Unplugged taping at the last minute due to a sore throat, Liam spent the entire performance drinking and heckling his brother from a VIP box. That same month, Liam also pulled out of an imminent US tour; despite soon rejoining, the remaining dates were cancelled.
During a drunken night on tour in Barcelona, Liam made a crude remark about the paternity of Noel’s daughter Anais - a comment that reportedly caused Noel to headbutt his brother, splitting his lip. Following the outburst, Noel said he was finished with touring and again left the band. However, he returned for a gig in Dublin that July.
During an interview, Noel claimed Liam was “frightened to death” of him, adding: “I can read him and I can f***ing play him like a slightly disused arcade game. I can make him make decisions that he thinks are his, but really they’re mine.”
Speaking about his brother in an interview with Q magazine, Noel uttered the now-infamous line: “[Liam’s] the angriest man you’ll ever meet. He’s like a man with a fork in a world of soup.”
Oasis officially called it quits on August 28, 2009, with Noel this time leaving the band for good. The final straw, the details of which remain murky, occurred minutes before their scheduled gig in Paris, resulting in a last-minute cancellation. Later that evening, Noel confirmed he had left the group as he “simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer”. In his statement, Noel added, “It’s with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight.”
He issued a second statement a few days later that doubled down on his decision, this time bemoaning the lack of support and understanding from his management and band mates.
Speaking to NPR in 2012, Noel recalled: “We were backstage waiting to go onstage to 30,000 people in Paris. The tour manager came in and said, ‘Five minutes!’ We broke up within that five minutes. I’m not proud of that, but all things come to an end.”
In a move almost as infamous as the brothers themselves, Liam took to Twitter to share a photo of his estranged brother, simply captioned: “Potato.”
Potato pic.twitter.com/naIX8TpppC
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) May 24, 2016
In an interview with Australian radio station Nova, Liam admitted Oasis “should never have split up”, but remained tight-lipped about the actual cause of their disbandment.
He offered vague details to the hosts, recalling: “He was going on like I’d killed his cat or something... we’d had worse arguments, you know what I mean? I think he just wanted out.”
Nine years after their disbandment, Liam offered an olive branch of sorts to Noel via Twitter (now known as X), writing: “Earth to noel listen up rkid I hear your doing gigs where people can’t drink alcohol now that’s the BeZarist thing you’ve done yet I forgive you now let’s get the BIG O back together and stop f***ing about the drinks are on me LG x [sic].”
After no reply, Liam tweeted: “I’ll take that as a NO then.”
During an interview, Noel offered fans a glimmer of hope when he didn’t directly shut down the possibility of a reunion in the future - but he still made his general sentiment towards the concept clear.
Speaking about the prospect of reconciling, he said: “If Oasis hadn’t had reached their potential, and there was something left to do, it would be different, but I just don’t see what the point would be.
“It would be ‘make a load of money’ - I’ve got a load of money. ‘To do some monumental [venue]’ - I’ve already done them,” he continued.
However, Noel notably added: “Now that’s not saying in 10 years’ time it won’t appeal to me...”
The joint “27.08.24″ posts were shared on social media and Oasis’ official Instagram on August 26. The day prior, Liam cryptically tweeted: “I never did like that word FORMER.”
On August 27 at 8am (UK time) on the dot, it was announced that Oasis would be reuniting for a 14-date summer tour of the UK in 2025.
Let’s just hope the brothers can stop looking back in anger (and no one else gets hit on the head).
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