The one-way feud of Oasis vs. The White Stripes
Music is no stranger to a one-sided feud. Whilst the old adage “living rent-free” is usually attributed to the world of sport, it also finds itself applicable in many instances across the timeline of music. One of the strangest is that Britpop legends Oasis seemed to have an unreciprocated problem with garage rock revival vanguard, The White Stripes.
Led by frontman Liam Gallagher alongside guitarist and creative figurehead Noel Gallagher, Oasis remain undoubtedly one of the greatest British bands ever. Capturing the zeitgeist with universal anthems, there is no surprise that they became the definitive British outfit of the 1990s.
However, running alongside their musical talent was the Gallaghers’ penchant for critiquing other artists. This outspoken nature, in tandem with their hell-raising lifestyle, made them one of the most storied and divisive groups in contemporary music. Displaying this contentious tendency even today, Noel Gallagher recently asserted that the band’s 1994 debut, Definitely Maybe, is “the last great punk album, in many respects”.
Regarding fellow musicians, one of the most prominent that Oasis took issue with is The White Stripes. Famously, Liam Gallagher once provided one of his most comical lines by dismissing Jack and Meg White as “rubbish” before taking issue with their youthful aesthetic. He said: “The White Stripes? Fucking rubbish. School ties? At the age of 24? Fucking hell.”
In 2005, though, Noel would take issue with Jack White on a seemingly more serious level. That year, The White Stripes leader stoked controversy when he wrote a song for the soft-drink leviathan Coca-Cola. Named ‘Love Is The Truth’, it was featured in an advert by Japanese director Nagi Noda, but it strangely only aired once in 2006. Although White was criticised for selling out, a decade later, his label, Third Man Records, re-released it. Their website explained: “White saw this as an opportunity to record an inspirational song that could reach a worldwide audience.”
In addition to failing to achieve his objective with the song, Jack White found himself in Noel Gallagher’s crosshairs. The Oasis man told NME: “Jack White has just written a song for Coca-Cola. End of. He ceases to be in the club. And he looks like Zorro on doughnuts, I don’t believe in adverts. He’s meant to be the poster boy for the alternative way of thinking.”
Gallagher added: “Coca-Cola man. Fucking hell. And OK, you want to spread your message of peace and love but do us all a fucking favour. I’m just not having it. It’s like doing a fucking gig for McDonald’s.”
However, it would be Jack White who had the last laugh. Horrors frontman Faris Badwan once recalled to 22 Grand Pod a raucous night out with the Oasis brothers, their lesser-known sibling Paul, Miles Kane and Everton footballer Leighton Baines. The evening included watching Jack White’s solo show at Alexandra Palace. At one point, Liam went missing and was later found in White’s personal dressing room. “Just to get in everyone’s face,” Badwan claimed, that the first thing Liam said to White on entry was, “You look like one of those Amish in that hat”.
He continued: “Within five seconds, Jack White had had his entire security team escort Liam and his brother off the premises, and they were not to be allowed back in for the whole thing.” Following this, Badwan turned and walked in the other direction as Gallagher allegedly pondered how to get back in.
