How much did Liam Gallagher creatively contribute to Oasis?
The creative effect frontman Liam Gallagher had on seminal 1990s UK rock staple Oasis is perhaps a moot question. The difference between ‘The Big-O’ and elder brother Noel’s High Flying Birds is the gargantuan presence of his younger sibling, providing the face, the charisma, and the voice (or mouth) so embedded in the national consciousness of the band.
Speaking to documentary maker Gil Dylan in Hong Kong on the eve of their 1998 tour of Australia, Noel gave a fairly sniffy retort to the question of songwriting contributions from other members of the bands: “The thing about the chaps is they’re the greatest songwriters in their own bedroom, and then when it actually comes to putting the balls on the line and actually trying to do something about it you’ll find that they’ll sort of retire to the bar…I suppose one day one of them will write a song and I’m sure it’ll be dreadful.”
When quizzed on what Liam contributed directly, Gallagher continued with typical candour: “Just himself… Liam tells me that he’s got an album written already, but you know until the day that I hear him play it on guitar then it doesn’t exist as far as I’m concerned.”
To be fair, all many frontmen need to contribute is themselves; that’s the point. Often, a band’s songwriter just doesn’t have the personality or chutzpah to perform the songs they’ve written. The difference between a Pete Townsend solo cut and a Who number is Roger Daltry’s showmanship, or a Martin Gore composition isn’t Depeche Mode until Dave Gahan has lent his distinctive baritone croon (although he’s since contributed some excellent songs of late).
It’s Liam we have to thank for Oasis’ genesis. Originally formed as The Rain in 1991, Paul ‘Guigsy’ McGuigan, Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs, and Tony McCaroll recruited Liam as the singer. Inspired by Noel’s Inspiral Carpets tour poster from his time as their roadie, Liam suggested ‘Oasis’ for the band’s new name from the Oasis Leisure Centre venue in Swindon, one of the dates listed on the poster.
Playing their first gig under the new name in August of that year in Manchester’s Boardwalk Club, among the audience was Noel, impressed with their performance. Armed with an arsenal of songs and a clear drive for commercial success, Noel’s captaining of the band led to enormous critical acclaim and a cultural capture of the 1990s British zeitgeist.
This sibling dynamic of the older songwriter and younger frontman was a formula hard to argue with, but Liam’s songwriting itch would prove too much to bear, slowly contributing songs from the 2000s. While not off to a great start with the cloying ‘Little James’, 2003’s ‘Songbird’ turned even Noel’s head, telling The Sydney Morning Herald at the time: ‘Songbird’ blew my head off when I first heard it…because it was that fucking simple and that direct. But when Liam plays you a song he wants you to instantly fucking drop dead on the spot and then, when you come around, stab yourself in the heart and be in awe of the fucking sonic ability of the man.”
Contributing numerous more songs until their initial implosion in 2009 and embarking on the successful Beady Eye and solo efforts, Liam provided an essential element to what made Oasis so memorable, as any great frontman does.
