Liam and Noel Gallagher back on track but rape charges against brother overshadow Oasis reunion

News24

7 hours ago

They may be brothers but over the years there wasn't much love lost between Noel and Liam Gallagher – there were punch-ups, there was swearing, there was unbridled bitterness.
Liam once hurled a tambourine at Noel's head. Noel got back at Liam by clocking him with a cricket bat.
They heckled each other during solo performances and Noel claimed he couldn't stand the sound of his brother's voice. They clouted each other in the street during drunken nights on the town, they parted ways, they got back together, they split up again – seemingly for good.
So when it was announced the Gallaghers were regrouping for a reunion tour as Oasis after a decade and a half, fans were sceptical. Was it for real? Turns out it was.
After 16 years of feuding and scrapping reunion plans, they've finally done it – and their Oasis Live '25 world tour, which will go across the UK, Ireland, Wales, North America and Mexico, kicked off last month to huge fanfare.
The notoriously foul-mouthed Liam was even unusually polite. 'Thanks for putting up with us,' he told the crowd. 'I know we're hard work.'
And yet drama continues to dog the duo who brought the world some of the most endearingly popular songs of the 90s and early 2000s.
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This time it isn't Noel (58) or Liam (52) who've been making headlines for all the wrong reasons but their other brother, Paul – he's been charged with rape and a string of other violent offences following an investigation by Scotland Yard.
The 59-year-old, who grew up with his siblings in working-class Manchester, has been accused of three counts of sexual assault, three counts of strangulation, coercive and controlling behaviour and two counts of making threats to kill.
All the crimes, which stretch from 2022 to 2024, are believed to involve one woman.
Paul, a sometime DJ and photographer who's listed on the Oasis programme as the 'tour DJ', is set to appear in court on 27 August.
Until the charges thrust him into the spotlight he lived what he called 'a normal life among the lower middle classes' in a flat in London Noel bought for him in 2004. 'I prefer to stay invisible,' he said – although he has claimed in the past to have been a musical influence on his famous younger brothers.
The Gallagher boys had a difficult childhood, growing up in a working-class housing estate in Manchester.
Their father, Tommy, a builder, was an alcoholic who regularly beat them. The boys hated school and at 15 Noel, who had a history of truancy, stealing and anti-social behaviour, was expelled after hurling a flour bomb at a teacher.
Their mom, Peggy, a housekeeper, eventually left Tommy, taking her sons to a new council house and trying to instil more stability and discipline in their lives.
The boys were devoted to their mother. 'I got nothing from my old fella, all from my mam,' Liam once said.
My mum taught us to be ourselves and not give a f**k what people think
Liam Gallagher
Liam and Noel started Oasis in 1991 but only became global superstars after the release of their second album, What's the Story, Morning Glory, in 1995.
And so began the journey of one of the most iconic English bands, who helped pioneer the Brit-pop sound of the time. They hold the title of the most successful act in the UK between 1995 and 2005 and hits such as Some Might Say, Don't Look Back in Anger and Wonderwall are still mega hits.
READ MORE | UPDATE | UK band Oasis announce reunion and 2025 tour after 15-year hiatus
Wonderwall is the second-most streamed song from the 90s on Spotify with 2,33 billion streams – a figure pipped only by Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit with 2,39 billion.
But it was the fierce rivalry between the brothers that more often made for explosive headlines and brawling, boozing and expletive-filled attacks plagued their working relationship.
In an interview with Vogue, Liam says he and Noel began fighting from an early age and recalls one night when, as a teenager, he came home and urinated on his brother's new sound system.
Things came to a head in 2009 when a backstage bust-up in Paris saw Noel quitting the band for good.
So how did the miracle of a reunion tour happen? Seems it was due to their beloved mom – and other family help.
Peggy (81) is believed to have been on her sons' case about ending their feud, saying it would be the 'best 80th birthday present' if they could kiss and make up.
'I told Liam he was going to bury the hatchet with his brother and that's it,' she said in an interview.
The octogenarian is reportedly on tour with her sons to keep them in check. Anaïs, Noel's 25-year-old daughter with his ex, entrepreneur Meg Matthews, is also said to have had a hand in the reconciliation.
Anaïs could tell her dad really wanted both Liam and Paul by his side after the split so was determined to get them back in touch
An insider
Anaïs, a model, has been a firm fixture at her father's side in recent years, accompanying his solo band, High Flying Birds, on tour in 2023 and directing a documentary of the trip.
She's close to Liam's sons Gene (24), whose mom is singer and TV host Nicole Appleton, and Lennon (25), from his marriage to singer and actress Patsy Kensit, and asked them 'if their dad would be willing to hear her out'.
'Thanks to her close relationship with Liam, she was able to call him. Once Liam called Noel the rest was left up to them.'
The 14-date tour is expected to gross around £400 million (R9,6 billion) with Noel and Liam predicted to earn over £50 million (R1,2 billion) each.
The tour caused outrage in the UK last year when tickets first went on sale. They were initially going for £148 (R3 550), with standard-seating tickets retailing for £73 (R1 750) – but ticket giant Ticketmaster kept raising prices.
Furious fans took to social media to vent, and even UK prime minister Keir Starmer blasted the debacle as 'not fair'.
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy promised to 'put fans back at the heart of music' with a plan to tackle transparency and dynamic pricing, a strategy where businesses raise prices in response to high demand.
Dynamic pricing was eventually dropped and Oasis euphoria reached fever pitch.
One fan, who was at the first show in Cardiff, Wales, was ecstatic. 'It was the perfect mix of nostalgia and joy at seeing them again.
'Liam's voice was back to its best and Noel – whose songs were always my favourite – belted them out with the crowd singing every word.'
Seems the magic that is Oasis is living on.
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