Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and a co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. Gallagher is one of the most successful songwriters in British music history, with nine UK number-one singles and twelve UK number-one albums (eight with Oasis and four with the High Flying Birds). He became the first artist in UK chart history to reach number one with ten consecutive studio albums. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential songwriters in the history of British rock music, cited by numerous major subsequent artists as an influence.
Gallagher began playing the guitar at the age of twelve, and became a roadie and technician for Inspiral Carpets when he was 21. He learnt that his younger brother Liam had joined a band called the Rain, which Liam subsequently renamed to Oasis; Liam invited him to join the group as manager. After rejecting the offer, Gallagher agreed to join the band, on the condition that he would take creative control of the group and become its sole songwriter and lead guitarist. He became the band's de facto leader and he was the sole credited writer for the band's first three studio albums.
The band's debut album, Definitely Maybe (1994), was a widespread critical and commercial success. Their second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995), reached the top of the album charts in many countries, and their third studio album, Be Here Now (1997), became the fastest-selling album in UK chart history. They released the acclaimed B-side compilation album The Masterplan in 1998 before taking a two year break. During this time Britpop eventually declined in popularity, but Oasis continued to have great success having five more UK number one albums (four studio and one compilation album) and four more UK number one singles in the years that followed, and the band's return to form was highlighted by the final two studio albums of their original timeline, Don't Believe the Truth (2005) and Dig Out Your Soul (2008), which were hailed as their best efforts in over a decade. In August 2009, following an altercation with his brother, Gallagher announced his departure from Oasis. He went on to form Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, with whom he has released four studio albums.
Oasis's time was marked by turbulence, especially during the peak of Britpop, during which Gallagher was involved in several disputes with Liam. Their conflicts and wild lifestyles regularly made tabloid headlines. The band had a rivalry with fellow Britpop band Blur. Gallagher himself was often regarded as a pioneer and spearhead of the Britpop movement. Many have praised his songwriting, with the Beatles producer George Martin calling him "the finest songwriter of his generation". Gallagher has won many awards during his career, including seven Brit Awards and two Ivor Novello Awards for songwriting, all of which he received while he was in Oasis.
Contents
Early life
Noel Thomas David Gallagher was born on 29 May 1967 in the Longsight area of Manchester, to Irish Catholic parents Peggy (née Sweeney) and Thomas Gallagher. Aside from Liam, he also has an older brother named Paul. Shortly after Liam's birth in 1972, the family moved to Ashby Avenue and then Cranwell Drive in the Manchester suburb of Burnage. As the eldest child, Paul was given his own bedroom while Noel had to share his bedroom with Liam.
Described as "the weirdo in the family" by Liam, he was known to be a daydreamer and a loner who was often reclusive due to his unhappy childhood. Both he and Paul were beaten regularly by their alcoholic father. In the documentary Supersonic, Noel quipped that his father "beat the talent into him", and that he had never acknowledged or discussed the abuse with a mental health doctor or in a therapeutic setting. Both he and Paul struggled with stammers which were made worse by their father's abuse and were resolved with weekly sessions in four years of speech therapy.
In 1976, Peggy acquired legal separation from Thomas, and in 1982 she left him, taking her three sons with her and continuing to raise them alone as a single mother. Gallagher said to Peggy that "If you don’t get out of here and leave him, I am going to kill him!" Peggy then responded by saying, "Oh Jesus, you can't be doing time for the likes of him."
As teenagers, the Gallagher brothers were regular truants, often getting into trouble with the police. When his mother took a job in the school canteen, Gallagher ensured that he stopped by to visit her during lunch before skipping the rest of the day. He was expelled from school at the age of 15 for allegedly throwing a flour bomb at a teacher, though he has since said that he did not do it and that he was merely present in the classroom when it happened. He used to hang around with the Manchester City hooligan firms Maine Line Crew, Under-5s, and Young Guvnors in the 1980s, and received six months' probation at the age of 14 for robbing a corner shop. It was during this period of probation, with little else to do, that he first began to teach himself to play guitar, a gift from his mother. He would play his favourite songs from the radio, and was particularly inspired by the debut of the Smiths on Top of the Pops in 1983, performing their single "This Charming Man". He later said that, from that day on, he "wanted to be Johnny Marr". He also appeared (and scored) for Manchester Gaelic football team CLG Oisín at Croke Park in Dublin in 1983.
Career
Oasis
In 1991, Gallagher returned from an American tour with Inspiral Carpets to find that his brother Liam had become a singer with a local band called the Rain. He attended one of their concerts at Manchester's Boardwalk but was unimpressed by the group's act. After rejecting an offer from Liam to be the band's manager, Gallagher agreed to join the band, on the condition that he would take creative control of the group and become its sole songwriter. According to another source, Noel told Liam and the rest of the group after having heard them play for the first time: "Let me write your songs and I'll take you to superstardom, or else you'll rot here in Manchester". His control over the band in its early years earned him the nickname "The Chief".
In May 1993, the band heard that a record executive from Creation Records would be scouting for talent at King Tut's in Glasgow. Together, they found the money to hire a van and make the six-hour journey. When they arrived, they were refused entry to the club because no one notified the venue that Oasis had been added to the bill. The band eventually secured the opening slot and played a four-song set that impressed Creation founder Alan McGee.
McGee then took the Live Demonstration tape to Sony America and invited Oasis to meet with him a week later in London, at which point they were signed to a six-album contract. Gallagher has since claimed that he only had six songs written at the time, and has put his success in the interview down to "bullshitting". McGee believes that when they met, Gallagher had fifty or so songs written, and merely lied about how prolific he had been following the contract. Richard Ashcroft was so impressed with Oasis during the time that he invited them to tour with his band the Verve as an opening act.
Gallagher said he wrote Oasis' first single, "Supersonic", in "the time it takes to play the song". "Supersonic" was released in early 1994 and peaked at No. 31 on the official UK charts. The single was later followed by Oasis' debut album Definitely Maybe, which was released in August 1994 and was a critical and commercial success. It became the fastest-selling debut album in British history at the time and entered the UK charts at number one. Despite their rapidly growing popularity, Gallagher briefly left Oasis in 1994 during their first American tour. The conditions were poor, and he felt the American audience—still preoccupied with grunge and metal—did not understand the band. Gallagher stated that his early songs, especially "Live Forever", were written to refute grunge's pessimism. Tensions mounted between him and Liam, culminating in a fight after a disastrous gig in Los Angeles. Having effectively decided to quit the music industry, he flew to San Francisco without telling the band, management or the crew. It was during this time that Gallagher wrote "Talk Tonight" as a "thank you" for the girl he stayed with, who "talked him from off the ledge". He was tracked down by Creation's Tim Abbot, and during a trip by the pair to Las Vegas, Gallagher decided to continue with the band. He reconciled with his brother and the tour resumed in Minneapolis.
Solo career and High Flying Birds
Gallagher's first concerts without Oasis were announced on 1 February 2010 to be at London's Royal Albert Hall on 25 and 26 March 2010 for Teenage Cancer Trust. He was supported by the Courteeners and Plan B, respectively. Terry Kirkbride and Gem Archer joined him on-stage, as did Jay Darlington, all of whom Gallagher had previously worked with while he was still a member of Oasis. He played a mostly acoustic set, and played a variety of Oasis album tracks and B-sides. It was almost the same set he played at the Royal Albert Hall in 2007. Gallagher also joined his friend Paul Weller onstage in London on 21 April 2010, playing the Oasis song "Mucky Fingers" and a song he co-wrote with Weller, "Echoes Round the Sun".
Gallagher confirmed that he would be returning to the studio in August 2010 to record drums for an unnamed artist, later confirmed to be Weller. He also denied rumours that he would be the Best Man for Russell Brand's marriage to Katy Perry. In August, it was mentioned on a UK Music blog, Sourmash Music, that Gallagher had been working with Liverpool group the Sand Band. Lead singer David McDonnell has been co-writing with Gallagher and are looking to collaborate on future solo projects together.
On 24 November 2010, Miles Kane revealed that Gallagher sang on a track from his debut solo album titled My Fantasy. Kane also revealed that he will appear on Gallagher's forthcoming album, playing guitar.
On 10 February 2011, Gallagher stated he had "not even started" his first solo record, despite Liam rumouring that he 'swiped' material from the Dig Out Your Soul sessions. "I am not recording new stuff, not just yet," he said to Talksport. "It'll be out when it's finished I guess. Well I've not even started it, so I don't know."
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds released a self-titled album on 17 October 2011; a collaboration album with Amorphous Androgynous was to be released in 2012 but has now been shelved indefinitely. He began touring in Dublin on 23 October 2011. The touring band announced for Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds comprised David McDonnell (guitar), Russell Pritchard (bass), Mikey Rowe (keyboards) and Jeremy Stacey (drums); McDonnell left during rehearsals and was replaced before the tour with Tim Smith who had played with Rowe and Stacey previously. On 20 July 2011, Gallagher released a 47-second trailer of his first single "The Death of You and Me". The video for the debut single was released on 25 July at 8:21 am (GMT).
Other projects
Gallagher has participated in numerous radio specials and one-offs. On 10 September 2011, Gallagher alongside Matt Morgan and others, stood in for Dermot. In April 2009, Gallagher, along with Russell Brand, presented a one-off radio show on Talksport. O'Leary on his BBC Radio 2 show. In March 2013, Gallagher, along with Brand, Morgan and Mr Gee, hosted a one-off radio show on XFM in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust. In February 2016, Gallagher and Morgan hosted a one-off show for Absolute Radio. On 29 May 2021, Gallagher stood in for Paul Gambaccini on BBC Radio 2's long running show Pick of the Pops. From 8 to 22 August 2021, Gallagher presented The Radio X Residency with Morgan every Sunday evening throughout on Radio X.
In 2004, Gallagher featured on Ricky Gervais's "Free Love Freeway".
In an interview with NME in 2014 whilst promoting his solo debut album Everyday Robots, Damon Albarn hinted at a collaborative project with Gallagher. Despite the years of animosity during Blur and Oasis' respective heyday, Albarn said: "We're talking. It's not anything to get excited about yet. I mean, he's doing his thing. He's finishing a new record. I've got my record coming out, but the principle of us making music together is something, you know. It would be fair to say, we have discussed it at least once."
In March 2015, Gallagher revealed that he was considering retirement from live shows within the following 10 years. He stated: "It's not fun being on a bus for six weeks in America. It's fine when you're young, but I'm almost 50."
In March 2017, Albarn's animated band Gorillaz released the track "We Got the Power" featuring Gallagher on backing vocals.
Gallagher is among those interviewed for the documentary film If These Walls Could Sing directed by Mary McCartney about the recording studios at Abbey Road.
In January 2024, Gallagher shared plans to record a new, entirely acoustic album, adding that the project was "for the fans". Later that year Gallagher confirmed that he had scrapped the idea.
Personal life
Relationships
Gallagher became engaged to his girlfriend Diane at the age of 18, but they never married and eventually separated. In 1988, he moved out of his family home to live with Louise Jones in India House, central Manchester. He described her as his "soulmate" and wrote "Slide Away" for her. They had an on-off relationship before separating in June 1994, with Gallagher stating: "I don't think I'll ever get over it."
In June 1997, Gallagher married Meg Mathews in Las Vegas. He had met her in 1994 through her roommate, MTV presenter Rebecca de Ruvo, whom he was dating at the time and whom he left for Mathews. Mathews gave birth to a daughter, Anaïs Gallagher, on 27 January 2000. Gallagher and Mathews divorced in January 2001 on the grounds of his adultery with Scottish publicist Sara MacDonald, whom he met at Ibiza nightclub Space in June 2000. After the divorce was finalised, Gallagher said that he had never actually been unfaithful and had only said he had cheated on Mathews to speed up the divorce process.
Gallagher then began a relationship with MacDonald, and wrote "Waiting for the Rapture" about their meeting. They have two sons, one born in September 2007, and the second in 2010. They were married on 18 June 2011 in a private ceremony at the Lime Wood Hotel in New Forest National Park. His close friend Russell Brand was the best man. They lived in Hampshire. In January 2023, the couple announced that they would be divorcing after 11 years of marriage, stating: "When you get to your mid 50s you do come to some kind of crossroads in your life. It's not uncommon for people who have been in long-term relationships to go their separate ways in their 50s."
Gallagher is friends with Richard Ashcroft (to whom he dedicated the Oasis song "Cast No Shadow"), the Chemical Brothers, John Lydon, Steve Jones, Kasabian, Andy Nicholson, Ricky Hatton, Paul McCartney, Jamie Carragher, Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Johnny Marr, Damon Albarn, Morrissey, Bono, Paul Weller, Johnny Depp (who played slide guitar on the Oasis song "Fade In-Out"), and Kate Moss (who used to stay with him when she was visiting London), and was friends with Gary Mounfield. Around the time that actor Ewan McGregor found out he had been cast as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Gallagher (his next-door neighbour) challenged him to a battle with toy lightsabers in his garden the morning after a party.
Other
In 1998, Gallagher made a cameo appearance as himself in an episode of The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star. He is also a regular on the sports radio station Talksport.
In 2001, Gallagher was reported to have an estimated personal fortune of £25 million. In 2009, The Sunday Times Rich List estimated his and Liam's combined personal fortune at £52 million.
Gallagher is a lifelong Manchester City F.C. supporter, admitting he "cried like a baby" when they won the 2011–12 Premier League. He is a friend of the team's former midfielder Joey Barton, as well as Italian striker Alessandro Del Piero, who described Gallagher as Italy's "lucky mascot" during the 2006 FIFA World Cup and appeared in the video for Oasis' "Lord Don't Slow Me Down". Gallagher and Kasabian lead guitarist Sergio Pizzorno took part in drawing teams for the FA Cup third round in 2011. Coincidentally, Pizzorno drew his hometown team Leicester City with Gallagher's Manchester City for the third round tie, in which both teams drew 2–2 and Manchester City proceeded to win 4–2 in the replay. He participated in the unveiling of Umbro-sponsored football kits with captain Vincent Kompany. In the advertising campaign, the two men are pictured wearing the new Manchester City home and away shirts for the 2012–13 season. Formerly, Kompany had introduced Gallagher to 80,000 fans during the Rock Werchter music festival in Belgium. Gallagher also supports Scottish football team Celtic F.C.
The son of Irish immigrants, Gallagher has described himself as Irish, although he considers himself equally British and Irish. After the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016, Gallagher applied for an Irish passport. In an interview with the Irish Independent in 1994, Gallagher said, "I hope we're not seen as snotty English upstarts. We're really snotty Irish upstarts". Gallagher supports the Irish national football team and has said that he does not consider himself "to be English at all", but he did serve as an official ambassador for England's bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Gallagher is also a fan of the National Football League, noting in an ESPN interview: "I love the NFL. I don't have a team per se, but I'm into it. NFL comes on late night in the UK when I'm up. I love the colour and energy of it all. There's so many things going on in American football. It took me a while to get it, but I like it a lot."
Gallagher stated in a 2006 radio interview with Russell Brand that he does not believe in "God or an all-guiding force". Despite this, many of his songs have mentioned God (such as "The Hindu Times" and "Little by Little"), and all the tracks he had contributed to Dig Out Your Soul (as well as the other bandmates' songs) have lyrics and references to God and other biblical terms. Dig Out Your Soul has been described by Gallagher as a "religious Armageddon". In 2009, he stated, "See, I don't know what I am. If I was an atheist I'd just write songs about not believing in God—but I don't know what I am." In 2017, he reaffirmed his lack of belief in God in an "Actually Me" segment for GQ.
Songwriting and musicianship
Style and abilities
Gallagher was the primary songwriter in Oasis, and the sole songwriting contributor on the group's first three albums. He is often criticised for the praise he gives to his own songs, to which he quipped, "If you'd written 'Live Forever', you'd be walking to a different tune the next day too." He has often been accused by critics of plagiarising the music of his heroes, but he has maintained that outright homages in his music are intentional. In a 1996 Guitar World interview, he described himself as "a fan who writes songs" and stated, "I'm not saying, 'I'm the greatest songwriter in the world. Listen to me.' Usually, I'm saying, 'These are the greatest songwriters in the world. And I'm gonna put them all in this song.'" His response to critics on the topic of "blatantly" stealing riffs was, "No, I don't feel guilty. But you feel pissed off because you didn't do it first." He added, "When I'm making a record, I've always been of the notion that if a song sounds like T. Rex, well, fuck it, let's make it sound more like T. Rex! I know there's bands that might write something that sounds like the Smiths, and they'll go, 'Oh, it sounds like the Smiths, we've got to make it sound not like the Smiths.' If I'm writing a song and I say to myself, 'Oh, hey, it sounds like the Kinks,' then I'm going to turn it into a Kinks track."
Gallagher has commented on his musical ability:
I've got a certain style and I've got no control over what I write. I'm not technically proficient enough to attempt all kinds of music. I wish I could write a fucking record like Raw Power or Wish You Were Here, or have the ability of a musical chameleon. But fuck it, I'm not. I just write these songs because they're real to me and they're coming from a place of truth. And that's it. I don't give a shit about being different. I want to be the same. And that in itself makes me different.
Comparing himself to other guitarists, Gallagher stated, "I can barely play like Peter Green, let alone fucking Jeff Beck." He also said, "I'm unfortunate enough that two of my best mates are Johnny Marr and Paul Weller. Those two are virtuosos to me although neither of them would admit it. On the electric guitar they're it. So if you're asking me how do I compare to those two—and I like to compare myself to the greats—I'm average at fucking best." Weller described Gallagher's ability as a guitarist as "rudimentary", saying, "Noel doesn't pretend to be a guitar god. He's very good at putting chords together and he's got a distinctive style in terms of his chord sequences and his rhythm playing. It's recognisable." Gallagher was voted the most overrated guitarist of the last millennium in a 1999 poll, which he named as the accolade he most enjoyed receiving. Though naturally left-handed, Gallagher plays guitar right-handed, which he said is the only thing he can do with his non-dominant hand.
Changing band dynamic
Gallagher's role as a chief songwriter for Oasis changed over time as he allowed a greater level of lyrical input from the other band members. Standing on the Shoulder of Giants included Oasis' first-ever album track written by his brother Liam. Heathen Chemistry included a further three tracks by Liam (including "Songbird"), one by Gem Archer, and one by Andy Bell. The album Don't Believe the Truth featured another three tracks by Liam (one of them, "Love Like a Bomb", co-written with Archer), one from Archer, and two from Bell. The latter two albums have been greeted with increasing critical and commercial success in the UK, particularly Don't Believe the Truth. The second single from Don't Believe the Truth, "The Importance of Being Idle", became the second Oasis track sung by Noel to top the UK charts and was named 2005's finest track by Q magazine, as well as being nominated for the NME's "Best Song of 2005" award. On the final Oasis albums, Noel's increasing role as lead singer, apparently to compensate for his diminished role as songwriter, caused some tension with Liam.
Zak Starkey, son of the Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and previous drummer for the Who and Johnny Marr, replaced long-time drummer Alan White during the recording sessions for Don't Believe the Truth. The loss of White prompted Gallagher to comment in a 2005 interview that he credits Oasis' trouble with drummers, in part, to the fact that he is himself a talented drummer: "I get a lot of stick for it, but I'm the best drummer in the group."
Feuds
Gallagher is known for his controversial and blunt statements in the press, including those about other public figures; he acknowledged his tendency for faux pas in the song "My Big Mouth" on the album Be Here Now. He has defended himself, saying, "People think [I'm] controversial for the answers [I] give to silly questions in interviews, but ... I'm not thinking about insulting people; I say what I genuinely feel is in my heart. My conscience is clean, d'you know what I mean? Y'know, I'm true to myself—fuck everybody else." On-stage at the 1996 Brit Awards, where INXS singer Michael Hutchence presented Oasis' "Best Video" award for Wonderwall, after receiving the award from Hutchence, Gallagher pointed his award to Hutchence and said, "Has-beens should not be presenting awards to gonna-be's." referring to INXS' popularity declining. Those words devastated Hutchence.
Damon Albarn and Blur
In a 1995 interview with The Observer, he expressed a wish for Damon Albarn and Alex James of rivals Blur to "catch AIDS and die". He quickly apologised for the comment and stated that "AIDS is no laughing matter". This statement was preceded by the success of (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, and a well-documented feud with Blur. The differing styles of the bands, coupled with their prominence within the Britpop movement, led the British media to seize upon the rivalry between the bands. Both groups played along, with the Gallaghers taunting Blur at the 1996 BRIT Awards by singing a rendition of "Parklife" when they collected their "Best British Band" award, with Liam changing the lyrics to "shite-life".
Gallagher maintains that the rivalry was conceived by the magazine NME and members of Blur's entourage as a ploy to raise their respective profiles, and that he has had no respect for either party ever since. Albarn has suggested the roots of the feud were much more personal. Tension between the two had largely cooled by 2007, and Gallagher said in an NME interview, "I've got a lot of respect for Damon, I really do mean it. Because I'm indifferent to Damon he thinks that I think he's a cunt. Our Liam will talk to him, I won't because he's just another singer in a band to me, but I don't think he's a cunt." On 23 March 2013, Gallagher, Albarn, Graham Coxon, and Paul Weller performed the Blur hit "Tender" at the Teenage Cancer Trust. Gallagher and Coxon later provided backing vocals on the song "We Got the Power" on Albarn's Gorillaz album Humanz. In 2019, he confirmed in an interview with Dermot O'Leary on BBC Two that he and Albarn had become friends.
Liam Gallagher
During recording sessions for (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, the brothers had a violent fight involving a cricket bat when Liam invited everyone from a local pub into the studio while Noel was trying to work. In 1995, Noel sang "Wonderwall" on Later... with Jools Holland when Liam failed to turn up.
In 1996, Noel provided lead vocals at a performance for MTV Unplugged when Liam backed out minutes before the set was due to start. Liam claimed to have been struck down with a "sore throat", but the band later found out that Liam did not like performing acoustically.
While on tour in Barcelona in 2000, Oasis were forced to cancel a gig when Alan White's arm seized up, and the band spent the evening drinking instead. Liam made a crude remark about Gallagher's then-wife Meg Mathews and attempted to cast doubt over the legitimacy of his daughter Anaïs, causing Noel to headbutt him. Following this, he declared he was quitting overseas touring, but returned for an Oasis gig in Dublin on 8 July 2000. During the performance, the two brothers shook hands at the end of "Acquiesce".
During the final tour in 2009, the only time that they ever directly spoke to each other was when onstage. Noel would later reveal that while they were in Oasis, the two "never hung out together outside of the band, ever".
The relationship between the two brothers again became strained throughout that year, eventually leading to a last-minute cancellation of an Oasis concert scheduled to take place on 28 August in Paris due to an "altercation within the group". Later that evening, Gallagher confirmed he had left Oasis as he "simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer". Through the Oasis website, he said, "It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight." On 29 August, he expanded further on his blog: "The level of verbal and violent intimidation towards me, my family, friends and comrades has become intolerable. And the lack of support and understanding from my management and band mates has left me with no other option than to get me cape and seek pastures new."
When asked in 2012 about his brother and an Oasis reunion, Noel said, "I last texted Liam at Christmas after the City match. I don't think it's gonna happen. It would be great for everyone else except me. It'd be mega for the millions and millions and for everybody else it would be brilliant, but I wouldn't be very happy about it. I guess you don't know what you're gonna feel like in 20-odd years but right now, I mean I was in Oasis for nearly 20 years. I've been doing what I'm doing now for one year and I'd like to see what it's like to do it for longer. I don't think anyone is pushing for a reunion either. Nobody ever brings it up in any seriousness; I mean Liam does publicly but he says a lot of things publicly. I wouldn't take anything he says seriously." After their performance of "Wonderwall" at the London Olympics Closing Ceremony, which Noel had originally turned down, he referred to Liam's band Beady Eye as "Stratford's finest Oasis tribute band".
Jay-Z
Gallagher criticised the organisers of the 2008 Glastonbury Festival for scheduling American hip-hop artist Jay-Z as a headliner for the traditionally rock-focused festival: "If it ain't broke don't fix it. If you start to break it then people aren't going to go. I'm sorry, but Jay-Z? No chance. Glastonbury has a tradition of guitar music and even when they throw the odd curveball in on a Sunday night you go, 'Kylie Minogue?' I don't know about it. But I'm not having hip-hop at Glastonbury. It's wrong." Emily Eavis, the organiser of the festival, said she was honoured Jay-Z was headlining the event: "He's absolutely the right act for our festival. There's no reason why we should not have the greatest living hip-hop artist on at Glastonbury." Eavis also reminded Gallagher that the Roots, Cypress Hill, and De La Soul had all previously performed at Glastonbury. Jay-Z said, "We don't play guitars, Noel, but hip-hop has put in its work like any other form of music. This headline show is just a natural progression. ... We have to respect each other's genre of music and move forward."
Jay-Z opened his Glastonbury set with a cover of Oasis' song "Wonderwall". When Gallagher was asked about the incident, he replied:
The way it's played itself out is that I said Jay-Z had no right to play Glastonbury, which is a crock of horseshit. I got off a plane and someone asked me about the fact that Glastonbury hadn't sold out for the first time in years, and if it was because of Jay-Z. From there it grew into this crap that I was standing on an orange crate at Speakers' Corner saying, "Gather round, brothers and sisters. Have you heard what's happening at Glastonbury this year?" I have a certain turn of phrase. So if I say, "Chicken sandwiches in McDonald's are just plain fucking wrong," it doesn't mean I'm attacking all chickens or all sandwiches. I've hung out with Jay-Z in Tokyo. I've seen his show. It's not my bag, but it's all right. We have a mutual friend in Chris Martin. ... I don't dislike rappers or hip-hop or people who like it. I went to the Def Jam tour in Manchester in the '80s when rap was inspirational. Public Enemy were awesome. But it's all about status and bling now, and it doesn't say anything to me.
When Jay-Z was asked about Gallagher's comments, he said, "I haven't spoken to [Gallagher], I heard he was reaching out. I don't bear any grudge, it's all good. I just believe in good music and bad music, I've always said that. You look at any interview from the beginning of time, I've always stated that I don't believe in the lines and classifications that people put music in so they can easily define it." When asked who he would be interested in collaborating with, he said, "Anyone. Oasis as well. It doesn't matter to me."
Phil Collins
Gallagher has frequently criticised Phil Collins, saying his music is bland and the opposite of what he stands for. He was quoted as saying, "People hate fucking cunts like Phil Collins, and if they don't, they fucking should!" He also called Collins the "antichrist". Prior to the 2005 UK election, he stated that he was still supporting the Labour government partly because of his concern that "Phil Collins is threatening to come back and live here [if the Conservatives win] and let's face it, none of us want that". Collins responded by saying that Gallagher "loves slagging me off". He also denied that he was a Conservative Party supporter in an interview in The Guardian. He appeared on the BBC television series Room 101 and nominated to banish the Gallagher brothers, describing them as "rude and not as talented as they think they are". In his 2016 autobiography, Not Dead Yet, Collins recalled meeting Gallagher in 1996 at a bar in Mustique. Gallagher declined Collins' request to jam with him.
Political views
Gallagher has spoken about his political views on several occasions. He was quoted: "Politics is like football for me. Labour is my team and even if you don't like a striker you don't give up supporting the whole team. Labour is the lesser of two evils. What else should we have? Anarchy? Someone has to be responsible." In 1997, he visited the recently appointed Prime Minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street. In an interview that year, when he was asked about why he visited Blair, he replied:
I've taken a lot of flack for going to No. 10 Downing Street but the thing about that is, I never considered myself a rebel anyway. I wasn't going there representing the 'Indie community'. I wasn't representing anyone. I was going there for me. You have to understand that from when I went to school and from when I was born all we ever knew was conservative, Tory, right-wing government. What people don't mention is, they say 'He went to meet Tony Blair.' No. I went to meet the Labour prime minister. Our parents always drummed into us that the Labour Party was for the people and the Tory Party was not. I went to meet the Labour prime minister.
In an interview in 2007, when asked about politics, Gallagher said:
I'd been unemployed all my life. It was a big deal for me when they (Labour) got in. Now David Cameron is no different from Tony Blair and Gordon Brown is no different from David Cameron. They're all cut from the same cloth and it annoys me that the biggest political icon in the last 30 years has been Margaret Thatcher. Someone who tried to destroy the working class. It freaks me out. So I don't really think there's anything left to vote for. I believe that I, as a person, can only change things once every 5 years and that's by voting, and my point is that even casting that vote means that the same guy gets in, the only difference is one has a red tie and the other has a blue one.
In 1997, Gallagher played a five-song set at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in New York City. As a result, Oasis were deemed "unsuitable" by the Chinese government, forcing a planned tour of the country in 2009 to be cancelled. Gallagher was passionate in his support for Barack Obama's successful bid for President of the United States, calling his acceptance speech to the 2008 Democratic National Convention "spellbinding".
Musical equipment
Throughout his career, Gallagher has used a wide range of different guitars, effect pedals and amplifiers from his large collection. Most of it emerged from the Standing on the Shoulder of Giants sessions, where he decided to drop the equipment used in the three previous albums and instead buy "loads of really weird pedals, old guitars, and small amps", as the lack of a deadline to deliver the album allowed Gallagher to "take quite a few days just messing around".
Guitars
Electric guitars
Epiphone Les Paul – Gallagher played a cherry sunburst model in the early years of Oasis.
Gibson Les Paul – A sunburst Les Paul was given to Gallagher by Johnny Marr, formerly of the Smiths, in the early days of Oasis. He used this guitar to compose "Cigarettes & Alcohol" and "Slide Away". Before Johnny Marr owned it, it belonged to Pete Townshend. When this Les Paul was severely damaged, Marr gave him another Les Paul, used prominently on the Smiths' album The Queen Is Dead.
Fender Telecaster – Gallagher uses several, one of which, a 1960s model, was given to Noel by Johnny Depp as a birthday present.
Epiphone Casino
Gibson ES-355 Vintage Model – Since 2001, this has become Gallagher's main stage guitar.
Epiphone Sheraton – Gallagher used two Epiphone Sheratons, a sunburst one and one with a Union Jack painted on the front which Epiphone sold as a signature model named 'Supernova'.
Epiphone Riviera – Gallagher used a dark wine red Riviera throughout 1995.
Gibson Noel Gallagher Les Paul Standard – Gallagher and Gibson spent 18 months developing this guitar, which was then used on Oasis' Live '25 reunion tour. It has an ebony finish, soapbar P-90 pickups, and SlimTaper neck. Gibson initially released a 25-piece limited run, followed by a full production run.
Effect pedals
In the early days of Oasis, Gallagher did not use pedals: "I used to just turn up the amps as full as I could get them." Since then, he has begun using a large number of effects, but singled out the Ibanez Tube Screamer.
Amplification
Gallagher has said that he used only 100-watt Marshalls early in his career. After Definitely Maybe, he began using smaller amps, singling out Fenders (Princeton and Bandmaster), and also a combo made by Clark Amplification, which builds amplifiers based on vintage Fender and Marshall amps. While recording What's the Story Morning Glory?, Gallagher also used Orange and Vox amps. Orange later made Gallagher a custom amplifier, which was later sold online for £6,800.
Discography
Solo
Live albums
The Dreams We Have as Children – Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2009)
Other appearances
As session musician
1995: Stanley Road by Paul Weller, acoustic guitar on "I Walk on Gilded Splinters"
1998: Saturnz Return by Goldie, guitar on "Temper Temper"
2000: Tailgunner by Tailgunner, drums
2001: The Same Old Blues by Proud Mary, production, plus additional vocals, guitars, bass and percussion
2002: Illumination by Paul Weller, drums, percussion & bass on "One X One"
2003: Polaris by North Mississippi Allstars, vocals on "One To Grow On" & "Polaris"
2003: Live at the Royal Albert Hall by the Who, guitar, backing vocals on "Won't Get Fooled Again"
2004: Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned by the Prodigy, bass on "Shoot Down"
2004: All Years Leaving by the Stands, guitar on "Some Weekend Night"
2008: 22 Dreams by Paul Weller, bass, piano, mellotron and Wurlitzer on "Echoes Round the Sun"
2011: Colour of the Trap by Miles Kane, backing vocals on "My Fantasy"
2015: A Head Full Of Dreams by Coldplay, guitar on "Up&Up"
2017: "We Got the Power" by Gorillaz, additional vocals
2018: True Meanings by Paul Weller, pump organ
2020: Walls by Louis Tomlinson, writing credits on "Walls"
Other
2004: "Free Love Freeway" – Ricky Gervais feat. Noel Gallagher; credited as a "special guest" on backing vocals for The Office Christmas Special DVD, on which the video of the recording session featuring Noel and Ricky is available
2011: Well ... All Right! – compilation album compiled by Gallagher, released covermount into Mojo magazine
Oasis
Definitely Maybe (1994)
(What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995)
Be Here Now (1997)
Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (2000)
Heathen Chemistry (2002)
Don't Believe the Truth (2005)
Dig Out Your Soul (2008)
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds (2011)
Chasing Yesterday (2015)
Who Built the Moon? (2017)
Council Skies (2023)
