It’s impossible to disentangle Oasis’ legacy from the infamous feud between Liam and Noel Gallagher.
While the interpersonal drama in many bands plays out behind the scenes, the sibling duo – who comprised the majority of one of the biggest bands in UK history – has always aired their dirty laundry very publicly.
Their dramatic breakup in 2009 was preceded by countless instances of the brothers taking aim at each other both on stage and off, with Noel eventually leaving the band and declaring he simply couldn’t work with his brother anymore.
Last year, the band officially confirmed their heavily rumoured reunion tour, kicking off today in Cardiff, with further dates in Manchester, London, Edinburgh, and Dublin.
The group has officially been heard performing together for the first time in more than a decade while practising their set, with fans desperately trying to work out which hits they’ll get to hear live.
As we prepare to do whatever it takes to get our hands on tickets, we’re taking a look back at the history of the vicious, often hilarious drama surrounding the brothers.
Did Liam and Noel Gallagher ever get along? (1970s)
It seems that Liam basically came into the world at odds with his older brother. Born in 1972, five years after Noel, Liam has claimed that there was rarely peace between the pair growing up.
In the 2016 Oasis documentary Supersonic, Liam said that the origins of their feud go all the way back to an incident in early childhood.
He revealed: ‘One night I come in pissed and I couldn’t find the light switch so I pissed all over [Noel’s] new stereo. I think it basically boils down to that.’
The infamous disaster at Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles (1994)
After the massive success of Oasis’ breakout album Definitely Maybe in 1994, the band was set on winning over American audiences.
During their first-ever US tour, they were scheduled to appear at the iconic Whiskey a Go Go in Los Angeles, following in the footsteps of rock icons like Led Zeppelin.
But with the brothers already butting heads behind the scenes, a pile of crystal meth was enough to bring the conflict to a head.
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In the documentary, Liam says of the ill-fated night: ‘I don’t know who f***ing got it but it was there and we all thought it was coke. We’re doing big f***ing lines of it and it just kept us up for f***ing days.’
When it came time for the band to play for their expectant audience, only Liam appeared on stage, telling the crowd: ‘The f***in’ band aren’t coming. You’ve just got me tonight.’
While his brother and the other musicians ultimately joined him, what followed was an almost unbelievably bad set, with neither brother fully able to follow the music.
The horrific performance ended in Liam hitting his brother on the head with a tambourine before storming off stage.
The fallout was felt throughout the rock world, and Noel left his brother in LA and headed to San Francisco, quitting the band for nearly two weeks before making tenuous amends.
Wibbling Rivalry explodes onto the music scene (1995)
While many in the music world were aware that all was not well between the Gallaghers, it became extremely public knowledge the following year when a parody song called Wibbling Rivalry by a band called Oas•s was released.
The ‘song’ is essentially 14 minutes of the pettiest sibling argument you can imagine.
In the audio from an interview the pair did with NME‘s John Harris in early 1994, before Definitely Maybe was released, you can hear Liam tell Noel: ‘You can stick your thousand pounds right up your f***in’ arse ’till it comes out your f***in’ big toe.’
Noel also compares Liam to a football hooligan with obvious disdain in his voice.
The song was everywhere, with fans quoting their favourite insults and obsessing over the obviously toxic sibling dynamic.
Wibbling Rivalry also made it clear that the brothers have fundamentally different ideas about how they should behave in light of their enormous fame, with Noel at one point telling Liam, in reference to a real incident in Amsterdam: ‘You think it’s rock & roll to get thrown off a ferry, and it’s not.’
Liam’s behaviour grows more unhinged (1996)
Things really began to fall apart for the brothers the next year, when Liam refused to perform on MTV Unplugged, instead chain-smoking on a balcony and yelling insults as his brother played the set.
Their latest album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? had just exploded onto the charts, with Wonderwall breaking through in America and making the band an international phenomenon.
But the height of their success coincided with their messiest conflicts yet, and as the band was due to embark on an American tour, Liam pulled out of the planned dates, claiming he needed to shop for a house.
While Noel went on the tour alone for several weeks, he soon returned to the UK himself, cancelling a string of American dates entirely.
Noel later said Liam missing the tour ‘killed [Oasis] stone dead in America’.
A world tour and an unforgivable comment (2000)
The band embarked on an enormous world tour in 2000, with Liam supposedly continuing to embrace a drug-fuelled rock and roll lifestyle while Noel began to rein in his partying.
Noel said at the time about the drug use and erratic antics the band had become known for: ‘I’m not “mad for it” any more. On the other hand, Liam’s mad for it.’
The pair’s rift reached an all-time low when Liam reportedly took aim at Noel’s family during an argument while on tour, questioning the paternity of Noel’s daughter.
Noel later told the magazine Q: ‘I’ve never forgiven him because he’s never apologised.’
As a result of the spat, Noel abruptly quit the tour, later rejoining after missing a string of dates.
Noel claims he can control Liam (2005)
For several years, the conflict between the brothers seemingly cooled off, with fewer instances of volatile behaviour hitting the headlines.
But things were reignited in 2005 when Noel said in an interview that he had resorted to psychologically manipulating his brother to get him to do what he wanted.
He told Spin: ‘I’ve kind of learnt that instead of arguing stuff out with him and ending up in a fight, I work on his psychology and he’s completely freaked out by me now.’
He went on to boast: ‘I can read him and I can f***ing play him like a slightly disused arcade game.’
He continued: ‘I can make him make decisions he thinks are his, but really they’re mine. Without fighting. It’s an art I’ve learned.’
Why did Noel Gallagher leave Oasis? (2009)
Four years later, the infamous split finally came.
In a statement released at the time, Noel wrote: ‘It’s with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.’
He continued by aiming one more creative insult at his brother: ‘He’s like a man with a fork in a world of soup.’
Reportedly, an altercation at Paris’ Rock en Seine Festival was the final nail in the coffin for Oasis.
Liam was said to have smashed one of Noel’s guitars in the midst of the fight, and soon after, Noel left for good. Subsequently, Liam sued Noel for statements he made about the breakup.
Liam resented his brother for leaving him behind, later telling The Guardian that Noel’s claims that Liam’s behaviour led to the end of the band were absurd because ‘that was my behaviour since day one’.
He continued: ‘That’s what made Oasis what it was. I wasn’t any different, but all of a sudden, he’s turned into Ronan Keating or some soft c***, going: “We can’t have that behaviour.”’
He continued: ‘I was sitting at home with no management, no office, and no one to really speak to, while Noel was still walking into his big management office having everyone running around after him, getting smart and dissing people.
‘Looking back with hindsight, you can go: “You’re a big boy” and all that, but when you’ve had all that stuff for 20 years… I could barely tie my shoelace let alone run my business or my life. All that support was taken away, but little Noely G had it all still there.’
The feud goes online (2009-Present)
Liam has taken full advantage of Twitter (now X) since its inception to air his grievances and lob insults at his older brother.
His feed has been almost obsessively focused on Noel for over a decade, taking to the platform in 2009 to call Noel and Russell Brand’s radio show: ‘what a pair of old housewife’s [sic].’
One of the more infamous moments came in May 2016, when Liam tweeted a picture of Noel with the caption ‘POTATO.’
This odd insult caught on, with Liam referring to Noel as a potato multiple times over the next year.
One of the most controversial moments in their post-Oasis saga came in the aftermath of the tragic 2017 Manchester Arena bombing. Liam performed at the One Love Manchester benefit concert with Coldplay’s Chris Martin for a rendition of Oasis’ Live Forever.
Liam quickly took to social media the following day to criticise Noel for not attending, calling his brother a ‘sad f***’.
While Noel rarely talks about his brother on social media, in a lengthy interview with The Sunday Times, he suggested his brother ‘needs to see a psychiatrist’ due to his obsessive tweeting.
He also criticised Liam for making the Manchester attack about himself, accusing him of exploiting a tragedy for personal gain.
Noel gave another interview on BBC4’s Front Row and discussed how Liam’s grudge had negatively affected his family, saying: ‘It only heightens my resolve that I’ll never walk the stage with that band again for that reason.’
In 2011, he also famously declared: ‘I’d rather eat my own s*** than be in a band with him again.’
Have the brothers really made up?
Reportedly, tensions between the brothers eased following Noel’s split from his ex-wife, Sara MacDonald, with whom Liam had a difficult relationship.
Some fans are finding it difficult to believe the brothers have truly made amends after all this time, even after Liam publicly complimented his brother at Reading Festival.
Some have speculated that maybe Noel and Liam are simply in it for the payday and aren’t on speaking terms at all, while others are certain that they’ve been faking the feud for years in order to cash out on their eventual reunion.
Liam recently opened up on the feud, sharing his biggest regret that the years had been ‘wasted.’
A fan on X asked: ‘How does it feel singing songs with ur brother again? Like old times?’
To this Liam replied with his regret: ‘You know what it’s spiritual but I can’t help think about all those wasted years what a waste of PRECIOUS time.’
The brothers’ mum, Peggy, also recently shared her instrumental part in their reunion.
She told Ireland’s Mail on Sunday newspaper: ‘I was the instigator, yes. But sure, wasn’t it always going to happen at some time or other?
‘It was their choice, of course. Look you can’t force them to do things they don’t want to do.
‘You just have to say, “Get on with it” and I said that.’
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