The Oasis argument that was turned into a hit record: “I do speak for the band”
Things were happening in the early 1990s, and although Oasis weren’t the biggest band in Britain, they were about to become the biggest band in the world.
The release of Definitely Maybe was just a few months away at the start of 1994 when the Gallagher brothers sat down with NME journalist John Harris. The group hadn’t released their record but their name was already gathering a lot of hype following some successful singles and TV appearances.
The chance to sit down with the publication was an opportunity their management was likely desperate for them to take seriously. They should have been promoting the upcoming record, but something else was on the duo’s minds: their recent spat on a ferry that caused them to get deported.
The band were en route to what would have been their first concert outside of the UK in Amsterdam, but after an entire day of drinking, the band members began to raise hell on the boat, led by Liam Gallagher. it was a story that would unfold again and again, throughout the group’s rocky history.
A group of football fans on the ferry to Europe had started a fight, and the hooliganism was too tempting for the Mancunian to miss out on. “Liam got very excited by the prospect of a lot of chaos going on, and he goes and joins in,” the band’s soundman Mark Coyle remembers in the documentary Oasis: Supersonic. “You can see him running through the windows along the deck. He’s having a great time. It looks like he’s in a school playground chasing leaves. The next time I see Liam, he’s still running up. He’s got policemen running after him.”
All of the band were arrested with the sole exception of Noel Gallagher, who did not partake in the madness. Although they blew their chance at their first international gig, the subsequent press coverage brought Oasis’ notoriety to another level. This was a point of contention during the interview with Harris, as Liam remained proud of his hell-raising reputation while Noel felt that it distracted from the band’s music.
For nearly 15 minutes, the brothers comically argue over what makes rock and roll tick. Liam believes in danger, while Noel would rather the band’s music be taken seriously without the embarrassing stories of getting thrown off ferries. Of course, this isn’t the kind of tact that the Gallagher brothers are known for, so instead, they simply hurl insults and profanities at each other for an extended period of time.
It didn’t take long for Harris’ recording of the interview to be bootlegged, and the recently established independent record label Fierce Panda Records decided to release the recording as a single. The label split the interview in half, labelled one side for each brother, and put a picture of the notorious Kray brothers as the cover art.
Released in 1995, the ‘Wibbling Rivalry’ single rose all the way to number 52 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the most commercially successful interview single of all time. It’s the stuff of legend and, perhaps in a move that sides with Liam, a completely perfect distillation of Oasis and rock and roll. That two of the foremost songwriters of Britain, about to make it big, could waste a chance of heavy promo by squabbling is near-perfect Spinal Tap wonderment.
By that point, the rows between the Gallaghers were well known to most Britons. Only a year after landing a hit single just from their arguments, Oasis officially stepped into the spotlight with (What’s the Story) Morning Glory. But anyone paying attention to the fervour surrounding the Gallagher brothers could have seen their massive rise coming from a mile away. After all, if an interview single could break records, who knew what a full album would do?
Oasis spent the majority of their life as a band arguing. This led to their demise in 2009 before the run of reunion shows in 2025. But while there has been no hint of a confrontation yet, the Gallaghers might be bona fide rock stars, underneath it all, they’re still squabbling brothers.
