Noel Gallagher Biography

Noel Gallagher	Noel Thomas David Gallagher Born: 1967-05-29 Birthplace: Longsight, Manchester, England Race: White Field: Guitarist Famous for: Guitarist for Oasis
Field: Guitarist

Thomas David Gallagher (born May 29, 1967) is the lead songwriter, guitarist and sometime lead-singer with the British rock band Oasis. He is the older brother of Oasis front man Liam Gallagher and the two are often pigeon-holed as squabbling siblings.

In the 1990s, he was centre stage of what the media coined the Britpop movement. Oasis' first album, Definitely Maybe (1994), became the fastest selling British debut ever, and along with the follow-up (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995), enjoyed much critical and commercial success. However, critical success on this scale has largely escaped the band since the release of 1997's Be Here Now.

Gallagher is often criticized for the praise he gives to his own songs. Though many consider this to be intense arrogance, he himself maintains that it is merely self-confidence and points out "If you'd written "Live Forever", you'd be walking to a different tune the next day too". [2]

His outspoken opinions on other bands and modern culture have, more recently, earned him something of an "elder statesman" reputation, leading NME to dub him "The wisest man in rock" [3] On his BBC 6 Music show, Russell Brand described Gallagher as one of the most respected musicians of his generaltion, to which Gallagher curtly replied "What do you mean one? Who are the others?"

Gallagher was born in Longsight, Manchester to Irish parents Peggy and Thomas Gallagher. He is the middle child of three, his older brother Paul was born in 1966, and Liam was born 1972. The Gallagher brothers grew up in the suburb of Burnage. Noel had an unhappy childhood. He and his brothers were often beaten by his alcoholic father[4], and he was often reclusive - Liam described him as "the weirdo in the family" [5]. As the oldest child, Paul was given a room to himself and Noel was forced to share with Liam [6]. His childhood nickname was Brezhnev, after the former Russian president known for his bushy eyebrows. The Gallagher brothers were regular truants and in their teens were often in trouble with the police - they allegedly broke into cars and stole bicycles, and at the age of thirteen, he received six months' probation for robbing a corner shop [7]. It was during this period of probation, with little else to do, that Gallagher first began to teach himself to play guitar imitating his favourite songs from the radio. Many claim that Gallagher was first turned onto music at his first gig, a Stone Roses gig at the International Two club. Whilst this may be true of his younger brother, and Gallagher, by pure coincidence, was also at the gig, he claims that this was neither his first gig (that distinction belongs to Irish band Stiff Little Fingers), nor was it the one that first made him seriously consider being a musician. Apparently the gig in question was another mancunian band, The Smiths.[8]

At some point in the early 1980s (sources vary), Peggy left her husband due to his violent mood swings brought about by his alcoholism, taking their three boys with her. Noel has since maintained a strained relationship with his father, notwithstanding periods in the 1980s in which all the Gallagher siblings (along with numerous cousins and uncles) at one time or another worked for their father's construction company. Other jobs endured by Gallagher include being a sign writer for an estate agent, as well as working in a bed factory and a bakery.

Having left his father's building company, Noel took a job at another building firm sub-contracted to British Gas. Here he sustained an injury when a heavy cap from a steel gas pipe landed on his right foot, crushing it. Following a period of recuperation, Gallagher was offered a less physically demanding role in the company's storehouse, freeing up time in which to practice guitar and write songs. Gallagher now claims to have written at least three of the songs on Definitely Maybe in this storehouse[9]. Much of the late 1980s found Gallagher unemployed and living in a bedsit, occupying his time with recreational drug use, songwriting and guitar playing. This was not helped by the fact that he suffers from dyslexia. Though ambidextrous (meaning he can play guitar with both hands) he chooses to play right handed and write left handed.

Gallagher's musical interests at the time revolved largely around British rock music, most notably The Beatles, whose influence is heavily reflected in his songwriting. Other influences were T.Rex, The Rolling Stones, Slade, Kinks and more contemporary bands such as The Smiths and The Stone Roses. Gallagher is often criticised for plagiarising his greatest influences - for example, he has used the opening guitar riff from T.Rex's 1971 hit "Get It On" not once, but twice on "Cigarettes & Alcohol" (1994) and "Some Might Say" (1995).

In 1988, Gallagher auditioned to be vocalist for the band Inspiral Carpets. Though rejected for the position, he was hired by the band as a guitar technician and toured with the band for some years along with his friend Mark Coyle. In 1992, he returned from an American tour with the band to find that his brother Liam had become the lead singer with a local band. Originally called "The Rain", Liam had pushed for the band to be called "Oasis". The band also featured Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs on rhythm guitar, Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan on bass and Tony McCarroll on drums. It transpired that Liam had joined the band with the hope of adding his brother, and his songwriting abilities, to the formula. Gallagher attended one of their concerts at Manchester's Boardwalk, finding himself unimpressed by the group's act. After cajoling by Liam he agreed to join the band on the condition that he maintain creative control of the group and become its sole songwriter. His control over the band in its early years earned him the nickname "The Chief"[10].

At the end of 1992 Gallagher contacted Tony Griffiths of Liverpool band The Real People, (who he had met when they were supporting The Inspiral Carpets) and arranged to record a professional sounding demo at their Liverpool studio. The resulting tape, known as the Live Demonstration tape, later formed the basis for their first album.

In May, 1993, the band heard that a record executive from Creation Records would be scouting for talent at a club in Glasgow called King Tut's. Together, they found the money to hire a van and make the six-hour journey to Glasgow. When they arrived, they were refused entry to the club as they were not on that night's set list, forcing the band to bully their way in [11]. They were given the opening slot and impressed the scout, Alan McGee, who 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" [12]. However, McGee believes when they met, Gallagher had fifty or so songs written and merely lied about how prolific he had been following the contract. [13]

Oasis' first single, "Supersonic" was released 11th April 1994 and peaked at #31 on the official UK charts despite Gallagher's claims that he wrote it in "the time it takes to play the song"[14].

"Supersonic" preceded Definitely Maybe, Oasis' debut album which was released in 1994 and was a critical and commercial success, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in British history at the time and entering the UK Charts at #1 [15]. However, Gallagher faced problems when it became apparent that, on the album's second single "Shakermaker", he had used the melody from "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" (the song made famous from its use on Coca Cola adverts in the 1970s). In fact, the first verse of "Shakermaker" had originally been the same as the verse used in the advert. Gallagher's unlicensed use led to Oasis being successfully sued by The New Seekers for A$500,000. His songwriting landed the band in trouble again in 1994 when Neil Innes, formerly of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, successfully sued on the basis that a substantial part of the melody of Oasis first UK top 5 hit, "Whatever", was taken from his song "How Sweet to be an Idiot".

Despite their rapidly growing popularity, Gallagher briefly left Oasis in 1994 during their first American tour. The conditions were poor, he felt the American audience - still preoccupied with grunge and metal (Liam summed up his view of the problem saying "Americans want grungy people, stabbing themselves in the head on stage. They get a bright bunch like us, with deodorant on, they don't get it."[16]) - did not understand the band and tensions mounted between him and Liam culminating in a fight after a disastrous L.A gig [17]. Having effectively decided to quit the music industry, he flew to San Francisco without telling the band, management or the crew. Their manager finally got hold of him, and Gallagher vowed to him that he would never return to Oasis. In an effort to calm him down, the two took a trip to Las Vegas where they met a newly married couple. The four drank and talked about music for some time until the wife of the couple finally convinced Gallagher to return to his band; it is rumored that Oasis b-side "Talk Tonight" (appearing on the Some Might Say single) was written for her. During recording sessions for Oasis' second album (What's The Story) Morning Glory? the Gallaghers had a violent fight involving a cricket bat, when a drunken Liam invited everyone from a local pub back into the studio whilst Noel was trying to work. Further problems arose when tension mounted between Noel and McCarroll, and in 1995, the band asked the drummer to leave. He was replaced by Alan White.

On the back of Definately Maybe Oasis quickly gained a strong following in Great Britian. Gallagher's extensive catalogue of songs - ironically written in the storehouses and the bedsits he had so bemoaned - were the fuel behind Oasis' success in the 90s and made him a rich and respected man. They won him acclaim from critics and peers, such as Sir George Martin, producer for The Beatles, who stated "I consider Noel Gallagher to be the finest songwriter of his generation".

Gallagher followed up the debut in 1995 with Oasis' first UK #1 single in Some Might Say. This preceded their second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. Though it suffered initial critical apathy, the album became the second fastest-selling album in the UK entering the UK album charts at #1 and peaking at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 chart [18]. Morning Glory became the springboard to mainstream commercial success for Gallagher and the band. Noel and Liam became household names, and as the momentum of the album built, Oasis went on to become one of the most popular and successful British acts of the 1990s. The album even propelled the band to success in America, albeit temporarily. The track "Cast No Shadow" was written for Richard Ashcroft, the lead singer of The Verve. Around the same time, Ashcroft wrote "A Northern Soul" for the album of the same name for Gallagher [19].

However, Morning Glory's success also lay partly in a well documented feud with fellow Britpop band Blur. The differing styles of the band - Oasis a gritty, working class, northern band and Blur an art-rock, middle class, southern band - coupled with their prominence within the Britpop movement led the British media to seize upon the supposed rivalry between the bands. Both factions played along, with the Gallaghers taunting Blur at the 1996 Brit Awards by singing a rendition "Parklife" when they collected their "Best British Band" award (with Liam changing the lyrics to "Shite-life"). However, in was Noel who proved the most aggressive telling The Observer that he hoped Damon Albarn and Alex James of Blur would "catch AIDS and die".[20] He subsequently apologised[21] for this in a formal letter to Melody Maker magazine.

On Monday, 14 August, 1995, Blur and Oasis released new singles on the same day, setting up a "Battle of the Bands" that dominated the week's music news. Blur's "Country House" outsold Morning Glory's second single, "Roll With It" 274,000 copies to 216,000 during the week.

When Oasis played "Roll With It" on British chart show Top of the Pops they were forced to mime. The Gallagher brothers used the opportunity to switch roles with Liam pretending to play guitar, while Noel pretended to sing (equipped with Liam's tambourine). The set ended with the band erupting in laughter at the Gallaghers' impressions of each other.[22]

The success of Oasis and his newfound fame and fortune were not lost on Gallagher and both he and his brother became famous for their "rock and roll lifestyle". They drank heavily, abused drugs, fought fans, critics, peers and each other and made celebrity friends such as Ian Brown, Paul Weller, Mani and Richard Ashcroft. Gallagher was known to spend money extravagantly - buying various cars and a swimming pool despite the fact he can neither drive, nor swim. He also famously named his house in Belsize Park in London "Supernova Heights" (after the song "Champagne Supernova"), and his two cats "Benson" and "Hedges" after his favourite brand of cigarettes[23].

Oasis went on to have greater success than Blur with their next two singles, "Wonderwall" and "Don't Look Back in Anger" charting at number 2 and 1 respectively. Originally Noel had wanted to take lead vocals on "Wonderwall", but Liam insisted on singing it. As compensation, Noel decided he would sing lead vocals on "Don't Look Back in Anger".[24] The latter is now regularly played at Oasis' live shows, with the crowd encouraged to sing the chorus.

1995 also saw Gallagher join his idols Paul Weller, Paul McCartney and Johnny Depp to form the Smokin' Mojo Filters. The supergroup, assembled by Weller, covered The Beatles' 1969 hit "Come Together" (the song's lyrics "He no Mojo filter" inspiring the name for the makeshift band) for the charity album Help!. Noel has also collaborated with the Chemical Brothers, Ian Brown, The Stands, The Prodigy and Weller, amongst others.

In March 1996, Noel and Liam Gallagher met their father again when a British newspaper paid him to go to their hotel during a tour. Noel left for his room, later commenting "as far as I'm concerned, I haven't got a father. He's not a father to me, y'know? I don't respect him in any way whatsoever". Liam took the opportunity to confront his father and threaten him. [25]

Also in 1996 Oasis sold out two nights at Knebworth, playing to over 250,000 fans. Both nights included a solo acoustic set involving just Noel. These shows represented the largest crowds ever to see a single act in British history, a feat only topped by Robbie Williams' three night gig at the same venue some years later. Gallagher then provided lead vocals at Oasis' MTV Unplugged set when Liam backed out minutes before the set was due to start. Liam claimed to have been struck down with a "sore throat" and that he doesn't like performing acoustically, though Noel claims he was hungover. Noel was further angered when Liam proceeded to heckle him from the balcony while the band performed [26]. Noel was again forced to fill in for Liam on a short North American tour when the lead singer walked out on the tour on 21 August, supposedly to buy a house with his girlfriend. Liam returned a week later, but tension between Noel and the rest of Oasis mounted and on 11 September Noel left the tour, causing many to question the future of the band. Gallagher claims he had intended to finish work on Oasis' next album and then retire to the English countryside, but this never came to pass.[27]

Having originally backed out from marrying girlfriend Meg Mathews on Valentine's Day 1997, the couple were wed in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 5th, 1997, preceding the release of the third Oasis album, Be Here Now, on 21 August. Following the worldwide success of Morning Glory, Be Here Now became Oasis' most eagerly anticipated album to date. As with the previous two albums, all the tracks were written by Gallagher. After an initial blaze of publicity, positive critical reviews, and commercial success, the album failed to live up to long-term expectations, and the public's goodwill towards Be Here Now was short-lived [28]. The album was ultimately regarded by many as a bloated, over-indulgent version of Oasis, defended by Gallagher as being due to his drug-addicted state at the time. He was critical of the album, even before its release. When asked by an American interviewer what was "new and different" about Be Here Now, he simply replied "It's got a different cover"[29].

Gallagher began to suffer drug-induced panic attacks during this period, his lonely, paranoid state inspiring the song Gas Panic, subsequently included on the 2000 album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. Gallagher claims to have quit drugs on 5 June 1998. He stated, in 2001 "I liked drugs, I was good at them. But I'd had panic attacks for about a year and I stopped because I wanted to. After you make the decison, it is quite easy." Between 1993 and 1998, he claims "I can hardly remember a thing."

After the near-hysterical hyperbole surrounding the release of Be Here Now had started to wane, critical response to the band became calmer and more considered, leading to a media backlash. In 1997, Noel was criticised for attending a high profile and well-publicised media party at 10 Downing Street, hosted by the newly-elected Prime Minister Tony Blair, along with other celebrities and industry figures that had supported New Labour in the run-up to the general election. Both brother Liam and Blur's Damon Albarn declined their invitations, with Albarn commenting "enjoy the schmooze, comrade"[31]. The perception of Gallagher as someone now mixing with politicians - and in particular a famous photograph of him sipping champagne with Blair - conflicted with the "working class hero" status championed through songs such as "Up In The Sky".

The turn of the century did not bode well for Gallagher. In 1999, after a row with Noel, Bonehead quit the band, with Guigsy following soon afterwards. As a result, the fourth studio album, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, was recorded by just the Gallaghers and White, with Noel playing all guitar parts. Gallagher appeared unfazed with Bonehead's departure, commenting "it's hardly Paul McCartney leaving the Beatles is it?"[32]. After the recording sessions were completed, Gallagher selected Gem Archer to join in place of Bonehead. Though Archer's official role is rhythm guitarist, in reality he and Gallagher now often split the roles of lead and rhythm guitar.

1999 also saw the collapse of Creation Records. Gallagher took this opportunity to set up Big Brother which now handles Oasis' distribution in the UK (Sony/Epic Records continues to handle the band's international distribution as of 2005). The name refers the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty Four, but is mainly a reference to Gallagher, as the elder brother of Liam. Each release's catalogue number is prefixed "RKID" (our kid), as a reference to Liam. The first Big Brother release was the single "Go Let It Out" on 7 February 2000, the lead single from Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. The single peaked at number one in the UK chart. The album also customarily peaked at number one, but was met with an even greater level of contempt by the critics than their previous effort. Around the time of the album's release, Andy Bell - formerly of Ride joined the band as bassist.

On January 27, 2000, Mathews gave birth to a daughter, Anais. However, Gallagher and Mathews divorced shortly afterwards, in January 2001, following Liam's own announcement of his separation from Patsy Kensit. It is rumoured that Mathews could not abide Gallagher's desire to move to the countryside and missed partying with her friends in London. He has since entered a long-term relationship with Sara MacDonald.

2000 also saw Gallagher's rivalry with Damon Albarn rear its head once more, having cooled off in the late 90s. In response to a comment made by Gallagher, decrying him as a "knobhead" who "dresses like a dustbin man", Albarn accused his old foe of selling out saying "I just think it was a shame when they started appearing in Hello and OK! magazines... For me it seemed such a betrayal of what they were all about".[33]

Gallagher's role as chief songwriter for Oasis has been challenged since the turn of the century 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 not by Noel, but by Liam. Heathen Chemistry included a further 3 tracks by Liam (including Songbird, which was released as a single), one by Archer and one by Bell. Don't Believe the Truth featured a further 3 tracks by Liam, one from Archer and two from Bell. The latter two albums have been greeted with increasing critical and commercial success, Don't Believe the Truth in particular.

Heathen Chemistry proved to be the last album to feature drummer Alan White, who left in ambiguous circumstances during the early recording sessions for Don't Believe the Truth. He was replaced by Zak Starkey, former drummer for Gallagher's heroes The Who and Johnny Marr and son of Ringo Starr who, as a former Beatle, is one of the Gallagher's chief influences. Indeed, Gallagher was esctatic to perform the classic "Won't Get Fooled Again" with The Who (and Starkey on drums) at a charity concert at London's Royal Albert Hall in 2000. The loss of their longtime drummer prompted Gallagher boastfully to comment in a 2005 interview that he puts Oasis' trouble with drummers, in part, to the fact that he is himself a talented drummer saying "I get a lot of stick for it, but I'm the best drummer in the group".[34]

Don't Believe the Truth's second single "The Importance of Being Idle" became the second Noel-sung Oasis track 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. However, on recent Oasis albums, Noel's increasing role as lead singer, apparently to compensate for his diminished role as songwriter, has caused some tension with Liam.

The Gallagher brothers famously share a turbulent relationship. Their arguments have achieved a status as something of Rock Legend. One of their arguments was even released on a bootleg single entitled Wibbling Rivalry. There are only a handful of known incidents where the two have actually come to blows. During their first American tour in 1994, Liam took to changing the words of the songs so that they were offensive to both Americans and Noel. A confrontation after the show led to a chair being thrown and Noel leaving the tour and heading for Las Vegas, claiming he had "visions of Fear and Loathing flashing in [his] eyes". He was eventually tracked down and returned to the tour before he could live out his dream of disappearing and buying a bar on a beach somewhere. Whilst on tour in Barcelona in 2000, Oasis were forced to cancel a gig when Alan White's arm seized up, the band spent the night drinking instead. Liam made a derogatory comment about Noel's then wife Meg Mathews, and attempted to cast doubt over the legitimacy of Noel's daughter Anais, causing a scuffle in which Noel punched Liam, knocking him down. Following this, Noel declared he was quitting touring overseas altogether, and Oasis were forced to finish the tour without him. He has since repented on his promise to quit touring overseas.