Noel Gallagher on the “shitstorm” sparked by Oasis split: “All fucking hell broke loose”

The band parted ways in 2009

Noel Gallagher has recalled the “shitstorm” that emerged after Oasis‘ explosive split.

The band parted ways in 2009 after Noel and Liam clashed at Paris’ Rock en Seine festival hours before their headline appearance.

Reflecting on the row, Noel told the new Sky Arts programme Noel Gallagher: Out Of The Now: “Oasis tours were always about the struggle, anyway. The incident in Paris, that was just the straw that broke the camel’s back, really.”

Advertisement

Noel recalled how he sat in the back of a car at the music festival after deciding it was time to quit the band.

“And the driver pulled off and that was it. I didn’t feel a sense of relief because I knew there was a shitstorm coming. And there was going to be a lot of nonsense talked about it,” he said.

“One of the biggest bands ever imploded, finally. And I couldn’t go back to England because the press had descended on my house and my missus was there with my kids.”

He added: “So we had to kind of spirit her out in the middle of the night and they came to join me in France somewhere. And then when we eventually got back to England, of course all fucking hell broke loose.”

Oasis perform at Knebworth House in 1996 (Picture: Getty)

While his argument with Liam was the final reason for the split, Noel admitted it wasn’t “a decision [he] took lightly”.

Advertisement

“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,” he said.

“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,” he said.

“And 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. But now of course we’re seen as up there with all the greats.”

The band are yet to reunite, with Noel recently denying Liam’s claims that they had been offered £100 million to join forces once more.

Last week, Gallagher also revealed he has received his first Covid-19 vaccine, while also criticising celebrities who have campaigned for other people to get the jab.

The former Oasis guitarist told Radio Times that his doctor told him he would be a “fool” not to get the jab after he initially turned it down.

Earlier this week, Noel Gallagher‘s High Flying Birds also unveiled ‘Flying On The Ground’, the latest new track to emerge from the band’s forthcoming greatest hits collection.

You May Also Like

Advertisement

TRENDING

Advertisement

More Stories