Oasis: Mancunian rockers who took on the world before their acrimonious split

Oasis were one of the most successful groups to emerge during the Britpop era of the mid-1990s before their bitter split in 2009, prompted by a backstage brawl at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris.

Formed in Manchester in 1991, the rock band was led by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher and his brother, lead vocalist Liam Gallagher, during their 18 years together.

Now, more than a decade later, the pair have confirmed they are to reunite for the Oasis Live 25 world tour, which will start in Cardiff next July, followed by dates in Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin.

The band signed to independent record label Creation Records in 1993 and released their debut album Definitely Maybe on August 29 1994.

Featuring tracks including Supersonic, Rock ‘N’ Roll Star and Cigarettes & Alcohol, it became a great critical and commercial success, and propelled the band to stardom.

The group started living up to the rocker stereotype and made headlines when they missed their first international gig in Amsterdam in 1994 because they had been deported back to the UK after getting caught up in a drunken brawl on the outbound ferry.

In 1995, the delivered their second studio album – (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? – which became the fifth biggest-selling album of all time in Britain.

The album contained some of their biggest hits including Wonderwall, Don’t Look Back In Anger and Champagne Supernova – songs which have gone on to become globally known.

The band released a further five studio albums, four of which went to number one in the charts while 1998’s The Masterplan peaked at number two.

During their time together they played across the world, sold out New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2005, and headlined Glastonbury in 2004.

The brothers had been known to get into arguments over the years, but things reached breaking point at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris when Liam began swinging around a guitar.

Noel has recalled in interviews that he left the venue and was sitting in the back of a car outside the event in France when he made the decision to leave the group.

Speaking on Sky Arts programme Noel Gallagher: Out Of The Now, he said: “And the driver pulled off and that was it. I didn’t feel a sense of relief because I knew there was a shitstorm coming. And there was going to be a lot of nonsense talked about it.”

In the programme, the guitarist also admitted he felt their break-up helped cement their legacy as one of the greatest British bands of all time.

He said: “I’d written every meaningful song that was ever recorded by Oasis. And it was my life, I directed it and creatively it was my thing. With the benefit of hindsight it was the best thing for me and for the band.

“Because the band now… Oasis back in 2009 were not lauded as one of the greats of all time. There was a kind of undercurrent of ‘Well, they should really call it a day’. That’s what I felt anyway.

“I felt that people had stopped listening to the records and were coming to see us trot out the hits, and it’s a position I never wanted the band to be in. But now, of course, we’re seen as up there with all the greats.”

Since their split, Liam and Noel have been locked in a war of words, often taking digs at each other in the media or at shows.

At the NME Awards in 2018, Liam told the PA news agency that his brother was the villain of the year, saying: “He’s worse than Donald Trump. He’s the biggest liar and biggest faker in the business.”

In 2015, Noel said he would “never forgive” his brother for walking out on the band during a series of live shows before they broke up.

In an interview with the Daily Mirror, he said: “You would have to go out and say in English to a load of perplexed Japanese people ‘I know you don’t understand what I am f****** saying, but the singer has gone off, so I am going to sing the f****** rest of the songs’. I could never forgive him for that, ever.”

The year after Oasis’s split, Noel formed his own band, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, which has experienced commercial success, with the first three albums all reaching number one in the charts and the most recent, 2023’s Council Skies, peaking at number two.

Noel and his band played the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury in 2022 where they performed a selection of their own tracks before he went back to his Oasis roots with some of the band’s biggest hits.

Liam has enjoyed his own success as a solo artist, achieving five number one albums including 2017’s As You Were, 2019’s Why Me? Why Not, 2022’s C’mon You Know, and two live albums – MTV Unplugged and Knebworth 22.

His recent collaboration album with fellow Mancunian John Squire also soared to number one earlier this year.

Liam has also performed major festivals over the years, including The Other Stage at Glastonbury in 2017 and the Trnsmt festival earlier this year, but each time he has also treated fans by performing a selection of Oasis classics.

While the brothers have done well separately, fans have been pleading with them for years to regroup.

Reunion rumours have circulated from time to time but they have intensified recently amid the apparent thawing in the feud between the pair.

Earlier this week, fans were surprised to hear Noel pay Liam a string of compliments in an interview with music journalist John Robb at Manchester’s Sifters Records in honour of their debut album’s 30th anniversary.

Reflecting on Liam’s performance on a number of their hits, Noel said: “It’s the delivery or the tone of his voice and the attitude. I don’t have the same attitude as him.”

He also jokingly compared Liam’s voice to “10 shots of tequila on a Friday night” and his as “half a Guinness on a Tuesday”.

As part of celebrations for the debut album’s anniversary, Liam has been touring the UK this summer, playing the record in full.

Noel has been notably absent from the concerts, but during a show in Cardiff Liam made a point of dedicating Half The World Away to his brother, saying he is “still playing hard to get”.