Music

The singer of the band Oasis was born into a family of Irish origin on September 21, 1972, under the official name of William John Paul Gallagher. He grew up in  working-class Manchester housing estate alongside his two brothers, Noel and Paul.

The family atmosphere was marked by their father's alcoholism. At the age of ten, his mother moved all the kids away from the paternal violence. Liam would confide years later that he had only ever kept sporadic contact with his father. As a teenager, he was regularly expelled from the schools he attended and frequently clashed with his brother, Noel. Anger often bubbled up within him, quickly bringing him a reputation as a delinquent with the social services. Fights, robberies, drunkenness; everything goes and only music would manage, for a while, to soothe Liam. He began to listen to the Who, the Kinks, but especially the Beatles, on repeat. He developed a real admiration for John Lennon (later naming his first son Lennon!).

In 1988, a school friend of his, Paul McGuigan, asked him to join his band, Rain, with Tony McCarroll and Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs. From concert to concert, they quickly became minor local stars. Their style and nonchalance caught on. In 1991, the band changed its name to Oasis and welcomed Noel, who took the place of guitarist and composer.

Oasis: the Britpop years

In 1994, "Definitely Maybe", the band's first album, was released. Immediate success for the two brothers with explosive temperaments. "Wonderwall", a global hit, attracted the eyes of the whole world, as well as those of the British tabloids, fond of the singer's escapades as well as his drug stories and his female adventures.

Britpop proved to be much more than a popular musical phenomenon, it became a real social movement, and the look of the band members also revolutionized the wardrobe of young Englishmen. The football T-shirts that the two brothers are fans of were no longer just everyday clothes, they become a real look, a fashion statement. Liam collected vintage tracksuit jackets, Dr. Martens and his iconic retro glasses. A style that comes straight from the English suburbs of his childhood, where hopes fade and often die under the grey skies. 

"(What's the Story) Morning Glory" was released in 1995, another success story summed up in one figure: 40% of English households own a copy. At this time, their legendary opposition to the band Blur, another darling of the British, kicked off. The two leading figures of Britpop confronted each other in interviews and with mutual provocations, a godsend for the tabloid press that made a big deal out of it.  Oasis' third album, "Be Here Now" was released in 1997. Although it again met with the approval of the public and critics, it was also criticized - notably by Noel Gallagher himself. In 2000, he released a new album, "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants", which marked the departure of two of the band's founding members, Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs and Paul "Guipsy" McGuigan.

The band's fifth album in 2002, "Heathen Chemistry", was followed in 2005 by "Don't Believe the Truth".

Fashion and tears

Passionate about fashion, Liam founded his own range of clothes, "Pretty Green". A style that he passed on to his son Lennon, who has been walking the catwalks in recent years with a pouting gaze inherited from his father. We saw him this year at the Burberry show, alongside his sister Anaïs and their mother (and Liam's former wife) Patsy Kensit. The new "it-boy" had walked for the brand a few months earlier, in parallel with his rock band, Automation.

Let's go back to the early 2000s. Liam and Noel's volcanic relationship increasingly impacted the group, and the two brothers regularly exchanged barbs, widely relayed by the British press. Noel launched one of the most striking lines: "My brother is like a man with a fork in a world where there is only soup". The irreverent Liam was quick to respond, sharing a video on his networks showing him trying to eat soup with a fork!

What could pass for stupid jokes, however, hid deep disagreements and the setbacks of the two brothers finally led to the group's breakup in 2009. The argument too many happened when, just before a concert at Rock en Seine while 30,000 people were waiting for them in front of the stage, Liam broke one of his brother's favorite guitars in a rage. Noël left the festival and one of the organizers of Rock en Seine had the difficult task of announcing to the public, and to the whole world: "Noël and Liam fought backstage. Oasis' concert is cancelled, as is their European tour. The group no longer exists."  Noel's comment a few hours later: "It is with a little sadness and great relief that I announce that I am leaving Oasis. People will write and say what they want, but it's impossible for me to continue working with Liam for another day."

Is there life after Oasis?

Noel quickly founded Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds while his younger brother struggled with addiction and serious money problems. His new band Beady Eye (made up of former members of Oasis) released their first album in 2011 and began a world tour. "BE", the band's second album, was released in 2013. An opus made of "75% rock and 25% weird stuff" according to its leader and singer, who could not save the band from separation, a year later. The meeting with his manager, now his wife, gave the volcanic singer a boost. In 2017, "As You Were" ranked number one in the British charts. Two years later, Liam Gallagher released "Why me? Why not".

The relationship between Liam and Noel did not seem to calm down over the years and Liam said in 2019: "We spend Christmas at our mother's house every other year. Our children cross paths, but don't really see each other." In 2024, however, news as unexpected as it was hoped for shook the fans: the enfants terribles of British pop announced the resurrection of their mythical duo, as well as a tour in the summer of 2025 in England and Ireland.

Have the warring brothers finally made peace? Or do they just need money?

(CMa/ML - Photo : Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Liam Gallagher at a tense press conference before their concert in Stockholm (Sweden) September 9, 1997 (© Etienne Tordoir)