Noel Gallagher Siblings: Meet Paul and Liam Gallagher
Noel Gallagher PHOTO/Redferns
Noel Thomas David Gallagher, born on May 29, 1967, in Manchester, England, stands as one of the most influential figures in British rock music.
As the primary songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist for the iconic band Oasis, he helped define the sound of Britpop in the 1990s with his anthemic melodies and sharp-witted lyrics.
Raised in a working-class Irish Catholic family, Gallagher’s journey from a troubled youth to rock stardom is marked by resilience and raw talent.
After the band’s dramatic split in 2009, he launched a successful solo career under the moniker Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.
Siblings
Noel’s older brother, Paul, born in 1965, was the eldest of the three, often afforded his own space in their modest family home, while Noel shared a room with their younger sibling, Liam, born in 1972.
The Gallagher brothers’ bond was forged in adversity; their father, Thomas, an alcoholic construction worker, inflicted regular beatings on the family, prompting a legal separation in 1976.
By 1982, their mother, Peggy, a resilient Irish woman, raised the boys single-handedly after Thomas abandoned them.
Career
Gallagher’s musical odyssey ignited early, sparked by a guitar gifted by his mother at age 12, which he taught himself to play by mimicking tunes from the radio.
His influences ranged from T. Rex and the Sex Pistols to the shimmering guitar work of Johnny Marr in the Smiths, whom he first encountered on television in 1983.
Teenage rebellion defined his youth: expelled from school at 15 for a prank involving a flour bomb (which he always denied), he dabbled in petty crime, including a shop robbery that landed him on probation at 14, and ran with Manchester City football hooligan crews.
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Yet music offered escape.
At 21, he hit the road as a roadie and technician for the Inspiral Carpets, honing his skills and even auditioning, unsuccessfully, for their singer role.
The pivotal moment arrived in 1991 when Noel returned to Manchester and joined his brother Liam’s fledgling band, the Rain, rebranding it as Oasis on the condition that he take full creative reins as songwriter and guitarist.
Their debut album, Definitely Maybe in 1994, exploded onto the scene with raw energy tracks like “Supersonic” and “Live Forever,” capturing the zeitgeist of working-class swagger and becoming the fastest-selling debut in UK history.
Oasis’s zenith came with 1995’s (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, a global juggernaut boasting hits such as “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” which propelled them to stadium-filling superstardom amid the Britpop wars with rivals Blur.
The band’s trajectory included the bloated excess of 1997’s Be Here Now, the UK’s fastest-selling album ever at the time, followed by more refined efforts like Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (2000), Heathen Chemistry (2002), Don’t Believe the Truth (2005), and Dig Out Your Soul (2008).
Tensions with Liam boiled over in 2009, culminating in Noel’s onstage resignation after a backstage brawl, effectively dissolving Oasis.
Undeterred, he swiftly assembled Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, debuting with a self-titled album in 2011 that blended psychedelic rock with his signature hooks.
Subsequent releases, Chasing Yesterday (2015), the Mercury Prize-nominated Who Built the Moon? (2017), and the introspective Council Skies (2023), solidified his solo stature, while collaborations with artists like the Chemical Brothers, Paul Weller, and Gorillaz underscored his enduring versatility as a producer and performer.l
Accolades
With Oasis, Gallagher penned eight UK number-one singles and twelve number-one albums, a testament to his prolific output that once saw the band dominate charts on both sides of the Atlantic.
Critics and peers alike hail him as a Britpop pioneer; legendary producer George Martin dubbed him “the finest songwriter of his generation,” while his influence echoes in countless acts from Arctic Monkeys to the Killers.
In 2007, the Brit Awards bestowed upon him the “Outstanding Contribution to Music” honor, recognizing his transformative impact on rock.
Even in self-deprecating humor, Gallagher cherishes quirky nods, like being voted the “most overrated guitarist of the last millennium” in a 1999 poll, a badge he wears with ironic pride.