Why did Noel Gallagher leave Oasis?
The members of Oasis were never going to part ways with handshakes and polite smiles. At their peak, the Britpoppers were unstoppable, dousing themselves in equal measures of infamy and glory.
From the moment Oasis arrived on the scene, the rivalry between the Manchester band’s key members, Liam and Noel, was evident. These were brothers, not friends, and they knew how to push each other’s buttons.
Many were unsurprised, then, that in 2009, the band announced their split. It later emerged that Noel had been the one to call it a day. Though Noel and Liam have gone on to have successful solo careers in their own right, fans remain optimistic that the band will one day reunite.
Noel and Liam, on the other hand, don’t seem so sure. The brothers’ relationship is as fractured as ever, with the pair flinging insults at one another during interviews, insults which provide nostalgic fans with a vague memory of the group at their chaotic peak. Join us as we explore why Noel Gallagher decided to leave Oasis behind after so many years.
Noel leaves for the first time
Noel had left Oasis once before, following a showcase at the LA venue Whiskey A Go Go. Halfway through the set, Liam turned on the band, hurling insults at Bonehead and throwing his tambourine at Noel, who subsequently walked off stage and disappeared for a few days.
It was later revealed that he’d been to visit an old flame, where, finding himself suddenly anonymous, he penned ‘Talk Tonight’. After a period of respite, he returned to the fray, rejoining Oasis for perhaps their most celebrated period. Of course, the divisions between Noel and Liam remained.
15 years of rivalry
Noel and Liam continued to spar throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, leading to such confrontations as the “wibbling rivalry” debacle, which came after Oasis started a fight onboard a ferry bound for Amsterdam, and the Barcelona incident, which saw Liam question the legitimacy of Noel’s daughter Anais.
Things came to a head in 2009 after Noel and Liam engaged in a heated argument at Paris’ Rock en Seine festival. Discussing the argument, Noel told Sky Arts: “The incident in Paris, that was just the straw that broke the camel’s back, really.”
Noel quits for good
Soon, Noel found himself in the back of a car, driving away from the music festival. Revealing the motivation behind his departure, Noel said: “It’s not a decision I took lightly. And I’d written every meaningful song that was ever recorded by Oasis. And it was my life, I directed it and creatively it was my thing. With the benefit of hindsight it was the best thing for me and for the band”.
“Because the band now, Oasis back in 2009 were not lauded as one of the greats of all time. There was a kind of undercurrent of, ‘well they should really call it a day’. That’s what I felt anyway.”
Noel also explained that his tumultuous relationship with his brother had come to overshadow Oasis’ music and that nobody was interested in their latest records. “I felt that people had stopped listening to the records and were coming to see us trot out the hits and it’s a position I never wanted the band to be in,” he said. “But now of course we’re seen as up there with all the greats.”
