Liam (left) and Noel Gallagher performing live onstage in 2001. Photo / Getty Images
Liam (left) and Noel Gallagher performing live onstage in 2001. Photo / Getty Images
The reconciliation of the notorious Gallagher brothers could be due to Noel’s recent divorce, reports claim.
Fifteen years after their explosive split, Oasis has announced they are officially reuniting for a string of gigs next year - but given the Gallagher brothers’ notoriously fractious relationship, fans are now pondering what prompted the reconciliation.
According to reports, Noel Gallagher’s recent divorce could be a key factor. It’s no secret that Noel and Liam, 57 and 51 respectively, had long had a strained and tumultuous relationship, but reports claim Noel’s ex-wife, publicist Sara MacDonald, only exacerbated the rift due to her and Liam’s on-and-off feuding.
In February 2018, lead singer Liam publicly labelled his then-sister-in-law a “dark” person, tweeting: “She’s the reason OASIS is no longer have to put it out there she’s DARK [sic]”.
In another tweet responding to a fan’s question about a possible reunion, Liam wrote: “I’ve told you before [Noel’s] rite up for it but you know who won’t let him as she doesn’t like Oasis music [sic]”.
It wasn’t the only time had Liam had publicly rowed with MacDonald, with reports claiming the publicist had called Liam a “deplorable w*****” in an earlier comment on Instagram. She also took it one step further, allegedly writing she hoped he “dropped dead” before her children were active on social media. This was said to be a response to Liam’s claims in an interview that he “didn’t care” if Noel, MacDonald, or Noel’s eldest child, his daughter Anais, were abused on social media.
“This is it, this is happening” Tickets on sale this Saturday 31st August (🇮🇪8AM IST / 🇬🇧9AM BST) Dates: Cardiff Principality Stadium - 4th/5th July Manchester Heaton Park - 11th/12th/19th/20th July London Wembley Stadium - 25th/26th July & 2nd/3rd August Edinburgh Scottish Gas… pic.twitter.com/5hRQ3sJihb
During an interview with British Vogue in 2020, MacDonald admitted she had initially liked her brother-in-law, but their relationship soured when she and Noel briefly split in 2002 - causing Liam to turn on her.
“He rang me 11 times in one night. It was ‘f***ing b****’ this, ‘f***ing b****’ that,’” she told Vogue. She also recalled an incident where Liam had thrown her handbag down a hotel corridor amid an argument with Noel.
Liam was supposedly not invited to Noel and MacDonald’s nuptials in 2011, with Noel later telling the Chicago Sun Times: “He goes on about how he wasn’t invited to my wedding. No one was at my wedding but Nic’s [Liam’s ex-wife Nicole Appleton] mum and my mum. Get over it, mate. I’ve not been invited to his wedding”.
Yet after 12 years of marriage, in January 2023 Noel and MacDonald revealed they had called it quits, citing the strain of lockdowns amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The couple - who met in 2000 - share two children: sons Donovan, 16, and Sonny, 13.
Noel’s daughter Anais, 24, was born during his first marriage to Meg Matthews.
Local media reported that Noel, Oasis’ primary songwriter, paid MacDonald £20 million (NZ$42.4m) in the divorce settlement. She also received their £8m (NZ$17m) mansion.
According to the Daily Mail, the hefty payout to his ex-wife may have played a role in Noel’s decision to reunite with Liam - given the financial merits of an Oasis comeback.
Last year, sources also alleged the divorce had benefited Noel and Liam’s relationship, claiming the once-estranged brothers were “closer than they have been for years”.
Group portrait of British rock band Oasis leaning against a Jaguar XJ6 car in Withington, Manchester, United Kingdom, 30th November 1993. L-R Paul McGuigan, Noel Gallagher, Tony McCarroll, Liam Gallagher, Paul Arthurs (aka Bonehead). (Photo by James Fry/Getty Images)
Following news of Noel’s divorce, the source - as quoted by the Daily Mail - claimed MacDonald was “caught up in the middle” of the brothers’ decades-long feud.
“Liam did not have the best relationship with Sara,” the source said. “It was never going to be easy for any woman caught up in the middle of this spat to have to deal with Liam. But Sara and Liam both blamed one another, often for things that were sparked by factors outside.
“[The divorce] made Liam and Noel confront some of the issues that they were constantly clashing over, rather than blaming somebody else. The pair of them are now closer than they have been for years.”
The source also hinted at the possibility of a reunion - “there is already loose talk about a possible Oasis stadium tour in 2025″ - a prediction that came true on Tuesday.
In an announcement to the band’s social media on Tuesday, the Gallaghers confirmed they are reuniting for a series of shows next year, with tickets going on sale this weekend.
The post came at 8am (UK time) on August 27, as teased in a cryptic video shared by the brothers and the band’s official account the day prior. The flickering, 11-second video of the date “27.08.24″, followed by “8am” (7pm NZST), featured the same font and style as Oasis’ branding - fuelling already rampant speculation a reunion was forthcoming.
“This is it, this is happening,” the announcement on Tuesday read, followed by a second tweet: “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised”.
At the time of writing, Oasis will be performing 14 dates across the UK between July and August next year, with the first concert scheduled for July 4 in Cardiff, Wales. The two dates in Cardiff will be followed by four shows in the band’s hometown of Manchester, before taking on London’s Wembley Stadium for a further four dates in late July and early August.
The next two shows are slated for August 8 and 9 in Edinburgh, Scotland, with the tour concluding in Dublin, Ireland with two dates on August 16 and 17.
Liam Gallagher with Noel Gallagher. Photo by Michel Linssen/Redferns
The news came just days after the Sunday Times reported that anonymous industry insiders were “adamant” that a reconciliation between the feuding brothers was on the cards. The insiders claimed the band would reunite for a series of summer concerts in the UK, including several dates at Wembley Stadium and a headline slot at Glastonbury Festival.
Another hint came on Sunday when, during his performance at Reading Festival, Liam dedicated the Oasis song Half The World Away to his estranged brother Noel, 57. The aforementioned announcement video was also emblazoned across the screens at the end of the set.
The Gallaghers - the only constant members throughout Oasis’ 18-year run - were among a collective of British musicians hailed as the initiators of Britpop, a mid-90s cultural movement and musical phenomenon characterised by catchy alternative rock and overt Britishness. The “big four” of the movement were considered Oasis, Blur, Suede and Pulp - leading to an intense, highly publicised rivalry between Oasis and Blur that was dubbed the “Battle of Britpop”.
But the Blur-Oasis feud had nothing on the clash between the Gallaghers themselves, with the brothers consistently making headlines for their tumultuous relationship - peppered with back-and-forth brickbats, public spats and several scuffles.
On August 28, 2009, Oasis officially imploded - the band breaking up minutes before a scheduled performance at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris.
“People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer,” Noel wrote in a statement at the time.
Now, 15 years later, let’s hope the brothers can stop looking back in anger.
