Beloved Brit rock band Oasis is one of the most legendary acts of the 1990s. Still, the troubled relationship between brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher is the stuff of legend—as much as it’s also the reason the two don’t make music together anymore. Here are ten facts about their tumultuous relationship you might not know.
The Band Didn’t Originally Include Noel
Believe it or not, Oasis didn’t form with Noel in the band. Instead, Liam Gallagher headed things up on lead vocals, while Paul Arthurs was on guitar, Paul McGuigan was on bass, and Tony McCarroll was on drums. Liam asked Noel to join a few months after the band formed! Picturing Oasis without Noel is bizarre, but that’s how it went.
Noel Became the Boss
It didn’t take long for Noel to basically become the frontman for the ascendant Brit rock group. He took over songwriting on the first four albums, which catapulted the band to genuinely unprecedented international success. Definitely Maybe became the best selling album in the UK ever in 1994, setting them up for a truly unrivalled run.
Speaking of Rivals
While their animosity toward Blur and frontman Damon Albarn is well-known in the UK, many American fans of both bands don’t realize how heated the Gallaghers’ feud with Albarn got in the 90s. At one point, Noel publicly wished for Albarn to meet an untimely death, which the Blur frontman responded to by not attending a Tony Blair party because he heard Gallagher would be present.
Ousting McCarroll
In 1995, the band booted Tony McCarroll from his role as drummer in a highly publicized move that McCarroll himself called “unlawful.” McCarroll characterized the episode as the Gallagher’s disliking him personally, while Noel publicly noted that he felt McCarroll wouldn’t be able to keep up drumming on the band’s new batch of music.
MTV Unplugged
The Gallaghers publicly feuded often, but a major incident cemented their rivalry in the minds of the general public. In 1996, the group was invited to play for an episode of MTV Unplugged, but Liam noted he had a sore throat and didn’t perform. Instead, Noel headed up the band during the event, while Liam watched, heckling, from a nearby balcony. Later, he refused to rejoin the band on tour, and eventually relented before angrily spitting beer all over the stage during their performance at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards.
International Acclaim
It’s hard to overstate how popular Oasis was in England in the mid-90s after the release of (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? At a certain point, they were basically as famous as the Beatles had ever been, reaching a type of monocultural success that bands simply can’t achieve in the modern era. The brothers’ feuding fueled constant tabloid covers about their antics and only helped propel them further into stardom.
Late 90s and the End of an Era
The late 90s saw the release of Be Here Now and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, commercial successes that nonetheless struck critics as inferior outings compared to the band’s first two albums. The band lost Paul Arthurs and Paul McGuigan in early 1999, leading to a lengthy period of finding replacements. They eventually brought on Gem Archer and Andy Bell, respectively, to replace their guitarist and bassist.
Early 2000s Turbulence
Things were quite uneasy for Oasis throughout the early 2000s, as they struggled to get into the studio and record new material. During this period, Liam’s onstage performances came under scrutiny, especially an “uninspired” performance at their second Glastonbury Festival headlining event in 2003. The 2005 album Don’t Believe the Truth was their best-received since Morning Glory, but things weren’t meant to last it seems.
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“Final” Split in 2009
After some more controversial outbursts and the departure of numerous other band members, Oasis released Dig Out Your Soul in 2008. The following year, before they were set to perform at the Rock en Seine festival, Noel publicly stated that he had left the band and it was a “great relief.” Moreover, he noted that he “simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.”
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Live ’25 Tour
And then, the impossible became possible. On August 27, 2024, Oasis announced that they’d reform for a series of shows in the UK and Ireland in July and August 2025. The band’s official statement about the concerts reads “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised.”
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