After Blur reunited last year, Oasis’ return seemed like a no-brainer. And they even planned a tour, with stops at Wembley and other stadiums in smaller cities, from Cardiff to Manchester. Why wait so long? Put simply: getting the band back together meant the Gallagher brothers were spending time together, which often got out of hand. When Noel left in 2009, he said he “couldn’t work with Liam another day.”
Like characters in a myth, there are certain elements of each brother’s personality that seem fundamentally irreconcilable. Which ones, really? And why can’t they stand each other? For the answer, we need only return to Glasgow, to the Forte Crest Hotel, in April 1994. John Harris, a journalist for NME who once described Oasis’ sound as “so devoid of finesse and complexity that it’s simply irresistible,” attempts to interview the band. Liam has just ruined a show in Amsterdam, which was supposed to close their first European tour, by getting kicked off a ferry for getting into a drunken fight. He found it hilarious. Noel, much less so. Everything in this interview helps us understand the brothers’ turbulent relationship.
Although it was never released, part of the recording was included in a single released in November 1995 by the Fierce Panda label. It reached number 52e topped the UK charts and provided a glimpse into the brothers’ relationship that has never been matched since. At one point, Noel repeats the word “music” 12 times in a row in an attempt to get the last word in the argument. Liam tries to get Noel to admit that he wants to be Keith Richards seven times in a sentence (obviously, persistence runs in the family). Liam accuses Noel of “talking about nothing but… mmmmbooooarskeebluh!” and claims to know John Lennon, which is not impossible because he is 5,000 years old. When Noel tells him no, he is only 22, he corrects him. He is 21.
In short, the Gallagher brothers are at each other’s throats. It’s a typical older-younger relationship with exposure to fame, money, drugs, and ferries to Amsterdam. In addition to the tone, the footage shows us the tactics each of the protagonists deploys and how they navigate the younger-older power dynamic. Noel tries to embarrass Liam, and Liam doesn’t like it. Noel says Liam “can’t drink” (big brother-esque). “Where the hell did that bottle go?” Liam asks, again in reference to alcohol (a decidedly little-brother attitude).
