‘Wibbling Rivalry’: The song that proved Oasis’ dominance in the 1990s
The entire back half of the 1990s seemed to be dominated by Oasis. While Nirvana represented the change of the guard for rock and roll in 1991, Definitely Maybe did the exact same thing from across the pond in 1994, reminding everyone who bought it that things were going to be alright and that the rock and roll attitude was still alive and well. If there’s one single that really says it all for Oasis’ grip on the culture, though, it’s not like ‘Live Forever’, ‘Champagne Supernova’, or even ‘Wonderwall’. It’s ‘Wibbling Rivalry’.
Because when breaking down the entire ethos of Oasis, it usually stems from the bitter feud between Liam and Noel Gallagher. Despite Liam forming the early incarnation of the group, there was no doubt that Noel was the leader when he started writing tracks like ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ and ‘Slide Away’. That was the kind of magic they excelled at, but it did lead to more than a little bit of a rub between the brothers.
Aside from the power dynamic, Noel and Liam have always been two totally different people. Both of them most likely wanted the rockstar lifestyle, but Liam could lean a bit too much into his stage persona than what Noel could tolerate. So when they had the chance to do a showcase in Amsterdam, ‘The Chief’ was furious to learn that his brother and the rest of the group had been thrown off a ferry and were detained.
When discussing the issue later with the press, Noel and Liam got into a violent argument about what their priorities were. Noel knew that there was no place for behaving like hooligans when showcasing themselves, but it’s borderline impossible to contain Liam when he’s taking his cues from John Lydon.
Once their hot-button interviews started gaining traction, though, that same hooligan behaviour started swinging back in their favour. People were starting to look at them as the most authentic rock and roll act since Sex Pistols, and hearing that they got up to unlawful activities behind the scenes only fuelled the mystique of what rock stars were supposed to do.
By the time fans were anxiously awaiting what Oasis was going to drop next, though, ‘Wibbling Rivalry’ was really the moment they became bigger than really should make any sense. For a single that got in the charts, there is no music to speak of here; instead, it is just the audio of that argument the brothers had about the point of the group.
Then again, it’s no big shocker why the Gallaghers’ comments were as hot as their singles. Neither of them minced their words when they had a microphone in front of them, and Noel would soon have to apologise for getting too harsh with Blur during their chart battle between ‘Roll With It’ and ‘Country House’. So, if there was no new music out in the world, then hearing the brothers bicker back and forth was the next best thing.
That kind of omnipresence may have been a double-edged sword for Oasis. Since there was that big a response to their work, that probably solidified Noel’s ego going into Be Here Now, which suffered from him being so high in the clouds that he created the rock equivalent of white noise for backing tracks and some of the most pointless tunes in his entire catalogue.
Still, ‘Wibbling Rivalry’ does at least mark a certain distinction for Oasis as one of the bigger phenomenons in 1990s culture. For all of the adulation that was thrown at other big names like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, not many of them could hold the record of having an interview on the hit parade.
