(Warning: There are some tweets in this article that include strong language)
Many of you may not be aware, but everyone’s favorite classics ‘Champagne Supernova,’ ‘Wonderwall,’ and many others were the product of one of the most tumultuous sibling rivalries to ever grace the music world. Let me introduce to you, Noel and Liam Gallagher, just two brothers from Manchester, England who just happen to be the most prominent members of the band Oasis. Throughout their music career, the pair was well known for their frequent fallings out, which ultimately led to their eventual breakup.
Now, you might say: “All siblings fight, was it really that bad?” To that I’d say, it was pretty darn bad.
The brothers have been quite candid about their disdain towards each other over the years. Their dynamic was put quite beautifully in an interview in their documentary Supersonic where Liam says, “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.” Now while that may seem a bit unsavory to some, stereos are replaceable and nothing can really break the bond that brothers hold, right? Could there still be hope?
Apparently not.
It all started to break down in August of 2009. It started with Liam blowing off a gig reportedly due to laryngitis. On the contrary, Noel did not agree and made a statement that his brother was definitely out due to a hangover. Why the specifics matter, we may never know, but I guess they matter a lot because this resulted in Liam suing Noel for his comments and made this statement: “I want Oasis fans, and others who were at V, to know the truth. The truth is I had laryngitis, which Noel was made fully aware of that morning, diagnosed by a doctor.” I mean when you put it that way, he was only thinking of the fans. Of course.
Don't worry, that wasn't even half of it.
The big fight boils down to an argument over fashion. Of course. Like any good rock star, Liam had recently released his own clothing line and wanted to advertise it during their tour. “Thinking of the fans,” Noel was not too hot about the idea and strongly disagreed. This led to what was arguably one of the weirdest string of events in sibling rivalry history.
Liam, not being a fan of Noel’s disagreement with him, hit him where it hurts. He fired off at him, accusing him of feeding information to journalists until he just couldn’t take it anymore and he stormed out of the room. But not before he could really get at him by throwing a plum against the wall.
That’s right, a plum.
It’s not over yet, though. He came back into the room wielding a guitar quite threateningly, at which point Noel got up and was basically like “I’m out,” and issued a statement later saying “It is with some sadness and great relief . . . 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.”
(RKID is referring to Noel, apparently)
It’s not completely lost, however, with a statement put out by Noel saying that “If I had my time again I would have gone back and done the gig. I’d have done the gig and I’d have done the next gig and we’d all have gone away and we could have probably discussed it. We may never have split up.”
Although a reconciliation doesn’t seem likely now, it’s nice to think that there’s probably not as many hard feelings between them since then. The moral of the story I guess is that all siblings fight, some more than others, but forgiveness should never be beneath anyone (I’m looking at you, Gallaghers). Quoting one of Britain’s greatest rock bands from the 90s/00s, “don’t look back in anger.” Please.
