The Oasis album that Noel Gallagher called “offensive”
The chaos that had always seemed to follow Oasis hit a point of no return in 2000. The original lineup of the band had splintered, with both guitarist Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs and bassist Paul ‘Guigsy’ McGuigan leaving the band following the release of Be Here Now in 1997. The band had managed to stabilise thanks to the recruitment of Heavy Stereo frontman Gem Archer and former Ride singer Andy Bell. But there were some growing pains, as both Liam and Noel Gallagher were going through marital trouble at the time.
When the band arrived at Wembley Stadium on the 21st and 2nd of July, the Gallagher brothers had just come off a massive fight stemming from a cancelled gig in Barcelona. With both at the end of their respective relationships and combating separate drug addictions, the Gallaghers were in a precarious place as they took the Wembley stage. Whereas Noel attempted to keep order, Liam had indulged just before going out to perform, leaving his voice hoarse and his demeanour combative.
From the very start addressing the crowd as Manchester (and eliciting boos from the London faithful), Liam did just about everything he could to sabotage the performance. The Wembley shows would later be compiled into the live album Familiar to Millions, released just a few months later in November of 2000. Oasis had managed to survive the gig intact, but after their breakup in 2009, Noel had no fondness for the record.
“That particular album, it’s a disgrace, that album,” Gallagher told Radio X years later. “It’s offensive. The whole weekend was just a nightmare. Liam unfortunately can hang his head in shame. The live broadcast is just… I don’t know what it is. I wouldn’t even know how to sum it up.”
“It was a horrible two and a half hours on that stage, or whatever it was. It was dreadful,” Gallagher added. “It’s the low point for me in the Oasis years. I was having a terrible time putting personal life and… awful. [The] cover’s not bad, though.”
Liam also seems to be ashamed about the gig, telling Radio X in a separate interview that the show is the reason why he doesn’t drink onstage anymore. “When you’re 20 and that, you can do what you want,” he claimed. “I used to smoke ganja on stage and everything. But now, I’d end up singing Taylor Swift songs, you know what I mean, forget what band I’m in”.
Check out the full show from night two at Wembley Stadium down below.
