THE Gallagher brothers have had more fights than hit records.
And with their long-awaited Oasis reunion kicking off this weekend, fans and tour promoters are praying the pair can manage 41 gigs without yet another epic fallout.
It is nearly 16 years since the nastiest of all their altercations signalled the end of the band, which had sold more than 50million records, released eight UK No1 albums and played two record-breaking shows at Knebworth.
Noel and Liam had reached a point where they only saw each other on stage. They didn't even travel together.
At the planned penultimate show of their 2009 world tour in Paris, Noel didn't even make it through the curtains after a pre-show brawl.
Liam had smashed one of his prized guitars, and Noel walked out on the band.
An onlooker said: "Liam was goading Noel constantly and then the two just snapped.
"There were proper punches and Liam smashed one of Noel's guitars. Liam was like a man possessed.
"Medical staff were called, along with security. This was a truly vicious fight — quite horrible."
'F***k it, I can't do it any more'
Soon after, Noel released a statement on the band's official website announcing he was leaving with "some sadness and great relief".
He added: "I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer."
Later, he wrote: "The level of verbal and violent intimidation towards me, my family, friends and comrades has become intolerable."
Noel, 58, went into more detail two years later, saying younger brother Liam, 52, had become "quite violent".
"Liam does the 'F*** you and f*** you and f**** you' and he kind of storms out of the dressing room.
"On the way out he picked up a plum and threw it across the dressing room and it smashed against the wall. Part of me wishes it did end like that, that would have been a great headline: 'Plum throws plum and finishes f***ing Oasis'.
"He went to his dressing room and he came back with a guitar and he started wielding it like an axe — he nearly took my face off.
"The tour manager came in and said, 'Five minutes!'. I got in the car, sat for five minutes and just said f it, I can't do it any more."
Liam summed up the ruckus in trademark blunt fashion: "Noel was acting like a d***, I was acting like a d***. Two d***heads in a room — f***ing hell. Band over."
The rivalry began with Liam's birth, according to mum Peggy, 81.
She said: "Noel was absolutely beautiful as a baby and then of course Liam comes along and it takes the limelight off him.
"You could tell the disagreement was there with them. I'm glad they could be a band together — I wouldn't have wanted Liam in a band without Noel."
Both brothers, begrudgingly, have admitted Oasis doesn't work without both of them front and centre.
Liam founded the band when Noel was a roadie with Oldham rockers Inspiral Carpets.
Noel went to watch them perform and was shocked to discover that, not only was Liam taking it seriously, the band were actually quite good.
He was a dick, I was a dick. Two dickheads in a room…f***ing hell. Band over
Liam on Noel
He later became their chief songwriter, after being convinced to join by his brother.
If Peggy hoped being bandmates might forge an unbreakable bond between her sons, those hopes were quickly dashed.
Liam says it started when the pair were teens, with an unsavoury incident in their shared bedroom.
He said: "I came home p***ed and couldn't find the light switch so I p***ed all over his new stereo.
"He holds a grudge."
Noel puts it down to a "power struggle", adding: "It's about me being in charge and everybody directing everything towards me and Liam being p***ed off about it. That's what starts it all."
The fact they're polar opposites doesn't help, as Noel explains: "I hate the term sibling rivalry but that's effectively what it is.
"I know my brother better than anybody else. Liam's like a dog, and I'm like a cat.
"Cats are very independent creatures, they don't give a f***, right b*****ds. Dogs are just 'f***ing play with me, play with me, please. F***ing throw that ball for me.' It's as basic as that.
"I'm a cat, I've accepted it — I'm a bit of a b*****d. "What can I say? I'm a bit of a c**t."
The brothers' first public fallout was at legendary LA venue Whisky a Go Go, in September 1994.
Fresh from a successful tour of Japan, the band hit the hard stuff before the gig — believing they were snorting cocaine, when it was actually crystal meth.
Cricket bat was weapon of choice
The gig was a calamity and Noel hit the roof, sparking Liam to throw a tambourine at his fuming brother's head.
Noel left, leaving LA to stay with a female fan in San Francisco he had met weeks before.
The following year, a cricket bat was the weapon of choice — and Noel was the one wielding it.
He whacked Liam's head after he'd brought people back to the recording studio while Noel was trying to work on second album (What's The Story) Morning Glory?
Noel performing more vocals was also starting to annoy his brother, even though it was Liam's form for leaving gigs early that encouraged him to take the mic.
Noel showed off his singing in 1996 at their MTV Unplugged gig in London's Royal Festival Hall, after Liam pulled out.
He still turned up and heckled from the audience.
Noel left again in Barcelona in 2000, after Liam questioned the legitimacy of Anais, his daughter by former wife Meg Mathews.
Speaking about the incident in 2005, Noel said: "I've never forgiven him because he's never apologised."
The insults and stage walkouts continued over the next four years, until that final Paris night.
In biopic Supersonic, Noel said: "Oasis's greatest strength was the relationship between me and Liam, it's also what drove the band into the ground."
After the break-up, the pair were quick to get back into music.
Liam's new band Beady Eye included Oasis bandmates Gem Archer and Andy Bell and enjoyed some initial success.
He's the angriest man you'll ever meet. Like a man with a fork in a world of soup
Noel on Liam
Their two albums reached No3 and No2 in the album chart, with some Oasis fans saying Liam's singing voice had not sounded so good since the Morning Glory days.
His brother returned with Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. Three of their four studio solo albums hit the top spot.
But Liam went solo in 2014 and, annoyingly for Noel, went on to eclipse him.
In 2021, Noel said: "Liam is doing massive gigs, he's selling more records than I am and he's selling more tickets than I am, if you can believe that."
Away from music, Liam has also kept up with his love of fashion — launched his Pretty Green label in 2009 — and was named as one of the new faces of fashion brand Stone Island in September last year.
Noel ventured into clothing too, designing the Definitely City range for his beloved Manchester City, which launched last year.
The association with his boyhood club remains as strong as ever, he has close relationships with manager Pep Guardiola and current and former players, including ex-skipper Vincent Kompany.
Over the past two years, though, Liam's insults had waned.
Reforming band would be 'biblical'
Instead, he was talking up the prospect of the band reforming on social media, saying it would be "biblical".
The change of tone sparked Noel to appear more open about a possible comeback, admitting he simply couldn't ignore the sums of money being discussed.
On The Jonathan Ross Show in 2021, Noel said he would reform Oasis for "£100million".
From that moment, the ultimate music comeback was well and truly on — and he could well earn close to that figure.
It appears Noel's daughter Anais, now 25, played a big part in getting the band back together.
The influencer worked tirelessly to reconcile her dad and uncle's relationship, having forged a bond with Liam's kids Gene, 23, Lennon, 25, and Molly, 27.
Anais believed making up with his brother would heal the pain of his recent divorce to second wife Sara McDonald, which was confirmed in January 2023.
She, along with millions of fans, will be hoping against hope that the brothers can finally look back without the anger.
OASIS ON OASIS
NOEL ON LIAM
"Liam got a Rolex. I got a Rolls-Royce. Which is brilliant, 'cos I can't drive and Liam can't tell the time."
(The Jonathan Ross Show, BBC One, September 2004)
"He's the angriest man you'll ever meet. He's like a man with a fork in a world of soup."
(Q, April 2009)
" . . . Sounds like Adele shouting into a bucket."
(On Liam's new solo career, l-D, November 2017)
"He's the man who puts the 'tit' in attitude."
(Studio 68 on XFM, July 2000)
"I'm trying to soar like an eagle, an eagle, and I'm being asked to comment on the ramblings of a common pigeon."
(Q, December 2017)
"I think it's unsophisticated music. For unsophisticated people. Made by an unsophisticated man."
(The Guardian, August 2019)
LIAM ON NOEL
"He couldn't handle the rock 'n' roll. He was too scared of it. So now he's gone all cosmic pop and Leo Sayer."
(Radio X, 2019)
"Every time I see pictures of him, I just see a potato . . . a stalker potato when he has his arm around Bono."
(The Howard Stern Show, July 2017)
"He's in one of his really, really, really big houses, probably eating tofu, having a f***ing face peel. Ain't that right, man of the people?"
(Sky News, October 2016)
"I'd rather eat my own s**t than be in a band with him again. He's a miserable little f*** if you know what I mean."
(LA Weekly, December 2011)
"He said we had a year to come up with a band name and came up with Beady Eye. He had three and came up with the High Flying Turds. I don't know who dressed him but he looks like something out of Westlife."
(Q, 2011)
- The Little Book Of Oasis Insults, by Jake James (Octopus, £8.99) is out now.
IT'S GIG TOILETS AND ALCOHOL
WITH just three days to go until the first reunion show, Cardiff was bringing in the booze – and the loos.
The capital is preparing for the arrival of thousands of fans ahead of Friday's gig in the Principality Stadium.
Giant posters of Noel and Liam have been put up all over the city as excitement grows.
Meanwhile, a new poll reveals Oasis is the band that splits the nation.
Nearly half of Brits – 47 per cent – find Oasis fans irritating.
A fifth are sick of hearing friends and family talk about the band before the tour even starts, according to pub chain Flaming Grill's survey.
But 44 per cent say they are fans, while 12 per cent reckon Liam Gallagher would be a great prime minister.
Now the pub chain is rolling out Gallagher-free "Meh for it" zones in the cities with the highest numbers of Oasis loathers, such as Plymouth and Newcastle, where customers will be barred from singing Wonderwall.
But in Oasis-loving cities, including Manchester and London, Flaming Grill pubs will be holding "Mad fer it" events.
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