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Noel Gallagher > E

Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician, singer and songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, occasional lead singer and principal songwriter of Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. Raised in Burnage, Manchester, Gallagher began learning guitar at the age of thirteen. After a series of odd jobs in construction, he worked for local Manchester band Inspiral Carpets as a r ... oadie and technician in 1988. Whilst touring with them, he learned that his brother Liam Gallagher had formed a band of his own, known as The Rain, which eventually took on the name Oasis. After Gallagher returned to England, he was invited by his brother to join Oasis as songwriter and guitarist. Oasis' debut album, Definitely Maybe (1994), marked the beginning of the band's rise to fame as head of the Britpop movement. Oasis' second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995), reached the top of the album charts in many countries and their third studio album, Be Here Now (1997), became the fastest-selling album in UK chart history. Britpop eventually declined in popularity and Oasis' next two albums failed to revive it. However, the band's final two albums, Don't Believe the Truth (2005) and Dig Out Your Soul (2008), were hailed as its best efforts in over a decade and found renewed success. On 28 August 2009, following an altercation with Liam prior to a gig in Paris, Gallagher announced his departure from Oasis and on 23 October 2009, he confirmed he would embark on a solo career. Gallagher's run with Oasis was marked by turbulence, especially during the peak of Britpop, during which he was involved in several disputes with Liam, and the brothers' fights and wild lifestyles regularly made headlines in British tabloid newspapers. Gallagher (along with Oasis) also shared a personal rivalry with fellow Britpop band Blur. However, he was often regarded as the spear-head of the Britpop movement, and at one point of time, NME termed a number of Britpop bands (including Kula Shaker, Ocean Colour Scene and Cast) as "Noelrock", citing Gallagher's influence on their success. Many have praised Gallagher's songwriting, with George Martin claiming him to be 'the finest songwriter of his generation. Noel Gallagher was born in Longsight, Manchester, to Irish parents Peggy and Thomas Gallagher. He was the couple's second child, after the birth of Paul Anthony Gallagher. Soon after the birth of younger brother Liam in 1972, the Gallaghers moved to Ashburn Avenue in the Manchester suburb of Burnage. Gallagher had an unhappy childhood. He and his brothers were often beaten by his father, who was an alcoholic, and he was often reclusive—Liam described him as "the weirdo in the family". Due to their unease around their father, he and Paul both developed stammers. As the eldest child, Paul was given a room to himself, and Gallagher was forced to share with Liam. Peggy Gallagher acquired a legal notice of separation from her husband in 1976. Six years later she finally left him, taking the three boys with her. As teenagers the Gallagher brothers—especially Noel—were regular truants, often getting in trouble with the police. When his mother took a job working in the school canteen, Gallagher ensured that he stopped by to visit her during lunch before skipping the rest of the day. He was expelled from school at the age of 15 for throwing a bag of flour over a teacher. He used to hang around with the football hooligan firms Maine Line Crew, Under-5s and Young Guvnors in the 1980s, and at the age of thirteen, Gallagher received six months' probation for robbing a corner shop. It was during this period of probation, with little else to do, that he first began to teach himself to play a guitar his father had left him, imitating his favourite songs from the radio. Gallagher was particularly inspired by the debut of The Smiths on Top of the Pops in 1983, performing their single "This Charming Man". He later reflected, "From that day on ... I wanted to be Johnny Marr." He also appeared (and scored) for Manchester Gaelic football outfit CLG Oisín at Croke Park, Dublin, in 1983. As teenagers the Gallagher brothers maintained limited contact with their father in order to secure jobs in construction. However, the relationship between father and sons continued to be tempestuous; Gallagher said, "Because we were always arguing we'd still be working at nine o'clock every night". Having left his father's building company, he took a job at another building firm sub-contracted to British Gas. There he sustained an injury when a heavy cap from a steel gas pipe landed on his right foot. Following a period of recuperation, Gallagher was offered a less physically demanding role in the company's storehouse, freeing up time in which to practise guitar and write songs. He claimed to have written at least three of the songs on Definitely Maybe in this storehouse (including "Live Forever" and "Columbia"). He later called the storehouse "The Hit Hut" and claimed the walls were painted gold. Much of the late 1980s found Gallagher unemployed and living in a bedsit, occupying his time with recreational drug use, songwriting and guitar playing. He is left handed, but plays right handed. In May 1988, Gallagher met guitarist Graham Lambert of Inspiral Carpets during a Stone Roses show. The two struck up an acquaintanceship and he became a regular at Inspiral Carpets shows. When he heard singer Steve Holt was leaving the band, Gallagher auditioned to be the new vocalist. He was rejected, but became part of their road crew for two years. Singer Tom Hingley said Gallagher owes his own career to the band, since "his business sense, work ethic, message and humour are Inspiral down to the core." He struck up a friendship with monitor engineer Mark Coyle over their love of the Beatles, and the pair spent soundchecks dissecting the group's songs In 1991, Gallagher returned from an American tour with the Inspiral Carpets to find that his brother Liam had become a singer with a local band called The Rain. He attended one of their concerts at Manchester's Boardwalk, but was unimpressed by the group's act. After rejecting an offer from Liam to be the band's manager, Gallagher agreed to join the band, on the condition that he take creative control of the group and become its sole songwriter. According to another source, Gallagher told Liam and the rest of the group after having heard them play for the first time: "Let me write your songs and I'll take you to superstardom, or else you'll rot here in Manchester". His control over the band in its early years earned him the nickname "The Chief". In May 1993, the band heard that a record executive from Creation Records would be scouting for talent at King Tut's in Glasgow. Together, they found the money to hire a van and make the six-hour journey. When they arrived, they were refused entry to the club because no one notified the venue that Oasis had been added to the bill. The band eventually secured the opening slot and played a four-song set that impressed Creation founder Alan McGee. McGee then took the Live Demonstration tape to Sony America and invited Oasis to meet with him a week later in London, at which point they were signed to a six-album contract. Gallagher has since claimed that he only had six songs written at the time, and has put his success in the interview down to "bullshitting". However, McGee believes that when they met, Gallagher had fifty or so songs written, and merely lied about how prolific he had been following the contract. Richard Ashcroft was so impressed with Oasis during the time, that he invited them to tour with his band The Verve as an opening act. Gallagher claimed to have written Oasis' first single, "Supersonic", in "the time it takes to play the song." "Supersonic" was released in early 1994 and peaked at No.31 on the official UK charts. The single was later followed by Oasis' debut album Definitely Maybe, which was released in August 1994 and was a critical and commercial success. It became the fastest-selling debut album in British history at the time, and entered the UK charts at number one. Despite their rapidly growing popularity, Gallagher briefly left Oasis in 1994 during their first American tour. The conditions were poor, and he felt the American audience—still preoccupied with grunge and metal—did not understand the band. Gallagher stated that his early songs, especially "Live Forever", were written to refute grunge's pessimism. Tensions mounted between him and Liam, culminating in a fight after a disastrous L.A. gig. Having effectively decided to quit the music industry, he flew to San Francisco without telling the band, management or the crew. It was during this time that Gallagher wrote "Talk Tonight" as a "thank you" for the girl he stayed with, who "talked him from off the ledge". He was tracked down by Creation's Tim Abbot and during a trip by the pair to Las Vegas, Gallagher decided to continue with the band. He reconciled with his brother and the tour resumed in Minneapolis. Gallagher followed up the debut in 1995 with Oasis' first UK number one single in "Some Might Say". This preceded their second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, released later that year. Though it suffered initial critical apathy, the album became the second fastest-selling album ever in the UK, entering the UK album charts at number one and peaking at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart. The success of Oasis and his newfound fame and fortune were not lost on Gallagher, and both he and his brother became famous for their "rock and roll lifestyle". They drank heavily, abused drugs, fought fans, critics, peers, and each other, and made celebrity friends such as Ian Brown, Paul Weller, Mani, Mick Jagger, Craig Cash, Kate Moss and Johnny Depp. Gallagher spent extravagantly, buying various cars and a swimming pool, despite the fact he can neither drive, nor swim. He named his house in Belsize Park in London "Supernova Heights" (after the song "Champagne Supernova"), and his two cats "Benson" and "Hedges" after his favourite brand of cigarettes. Oasis went on to have greater success with their next two singles, "Wonderwall" and "Don't Look Back in Anger" charting at number two and number one respectively; the former becoming their sole top 10 hit in the US. Originally, Gallagher had wanted to take lead vocals on "Wonderwall", but Liam insisted on singing it. As compensation, he decided he would sing lead vocals on "Don't Look Back in Anger". 1995 also saw Gallagher play two songs for the charity album Help! : "Fade Away", accompanied by friend and Oasis fan Johnny Depp and Depp's then-girlfriend Kate Moss; and The Beatles' 1969 hit "Come Together", along with Paul Weller, Paul McCartney and others in a supergroup called Smokin' Mojo Filters. He began collaborating with the Chemical Brothers, Ian Brown, The Stands, The Prodigy and Weller, amongst others. Gallagher became so influential that a June 1996 NME article argued that "If Noel Gallagher, the most successful songwriter of his generation, champions a group, then said group are guaranteed more mainstream kudos and, quite possibly, more sales. And since Noel has taken to championing only five or six groups, then it's a powerful cabal he's promoting." The NME article grouped the bands Gallagher praised, including The Boo Radleys, Ocean Colour Scene, and Cast, under the banner of "Noelrock". John Harris typified these bands, and Gallagher, of sharing "a dewy-eyed love of the 1960s, a spurning of much beyond rock's most basic ingredients, and a belief in the supremacy of 'real music'". Promotional poster for the mammoth Knebworth Park gigs in August 1996. In March 1996, Gallagher and his brother Liam met their father again when the News of the World paid him to go to their hotel during a tour. He left for his room, later commenting "as far as I'm concerned, I haven't got a father. He's not a father to me, y'know? I don't respect him in any way whatsoever". In August 1996, Oasis sold out two nights at Knebworth, playing to over 250,000 fans. Following the worldwide success of Morning Glory?, Be Here Now (1997) became Oasis' most eagerly anticipated album to date. As with the previous two albums, all the tracks were written by Gallagher. After an initial blaze of publicity, positive critical reviews, and commercial success, the album failed to live up to long-term expectations, and public goodwill towards Be Here Now was short-lived. The album was ultimately regarded by many as a bloated, over-indulgent version of Oasis, which Gallagher has since blamed on the drug-addicted state and indifference of the band at the time. Gallagher began to suffer drug-induced panic attacks during this period. His depression and paranoid well-being inspired the song "Gas Panic!", subsequently included on the 2000 album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. He claimed to have quit using illicit drugs on 5 June 1998. Gallagher stated in 2001, "I liked drugs, I was good at them. But I'd had panic attacks for about a year and I stopped because I wanted to. After you make the decision, it is quite easy." Between 1993 and 1998, Gallagher claims, "I can hardly remember a thing." After the hype surrounding the release of Be Here Now had started to wane, critical response to the band became calmer and more considered, leading to a media backlash. In 1997, Gallagher was criticised for attending a high-profile and well-publicised media party at 10 Downing Street, hosted by the newly-appointed Prime Minister, Tony Blair, along with other celebrities and industry figures who had supported New Labour in the run-up to the general election. Both brother Liam and Blur's Damon Albarn declined their invitations, with Albarn commenting "Enjoy the schmooze, comrade." The perception of Gallagher as someone now mixing with politicians—or, in particular, a famous photograph of him sipping champagne with Blair—conflicted with the "working class hero" status championed through songs such as "Up in the Sky". In 1999, rhythm guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs quit the band, with bassist Paul McGuigan following soon afterwards. As a result, the fourth studio album, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, was recorded by just the Gallaghers and drummer Alan White, with Gallagher playing all guitar parts. He later commented on Bonehead's departure, "It's hardly Paul McCartney leaving the Beatles, is it?". After the recording sessions were completed, Gallagher selected Gem Archer to join in place of Bonehead. Later that year Alan McGee decided to leave Creation and sold the rest of his 51% stake in the label to Sony. Gallagher took this opportunity to set up Big Brother Recordings, which took over Oasis' distribution in the UK, but Sony imprint Epic Records continued to handle the band's international distribution. Around the time of the album's release, Andy Bell, formerly of Ride, joined the band as bassist. In 2001, Gallagher formed his own label, Sour Mash Records, which released records by the likes of Shack and Proud Mary. The incorporation of the label followed Gallagher's debut as a producer, working with Proud Mary on their debut, The Same Old Blues. In late 2006, Gallagher toured the UK, Europe, Japan, America and Australia in a series of acclaimed intimate semi-acoustic gigs accompanied by Gem Archer and Terry Kirkbride on percussion. The show proved successful and a further series of sets took place in 2007. March 2007 saw Gallagher perform in Moscow—the first time an Oasis member has performed in Russia. Yet Gallagher dismissed claims that he was planning to embark on a solo career. In early 2007, Gallagher joined the rest of Oasis to collect the "Outstanding Contribution to Music" Award at the Brit Awards 2007. Gallagher, along with the band recorded their seventh studio album between 2007 and the next year at Abbey Road Studios and in Los Angeles, and started at the end of the summer of 2008 a tour that will last at least 12 months. In March 2009, The Times in conjunction with iTunes released a selection of live recordings by Noel Gallagher taken from his semi-acoustic performance at the Royal Albert Hall on 27 March 2007 in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust. The Dreams We Have as Children features classic and rare tracks from the Oasis canon along with several cover versions of some of Gallagher's favourite artists. On 28 August 2009, he quit Oasis after a fight with his brother, Liam . A little before midnight on Friday Gallagher posted a statement on his message board called "Tales from the Middle of Nowhere" on the band's website announcing his departure. Gallagher's first concerts without Oasis were announced on 1 February 2010 to be at London's Royal Albert Hall on 25 and 26 March 2010 for Teenage Cancer Trust . He was supported by The Courteeners and Plan B respectively. Terry Kirkbride and Gem Archer joined him on-stage, as did Jay Darlington, all of whom Gallagher had previously worked with while he was still a member of Oasis. He played a mostly acoustic set, and played a variety of Oasis album tracks and B-sides. It was almost the same set he played at the Royal Albert Hall in 2007. Gallagher also joined friend Paul Weller onstage in London on 21 April 2010, and played the Oasis song "Mucky Fingers" and a song he co-wrote with Weller, "Echoes Round the Sun". Gallagher confirmed that he would be returning to the studio in August 2010 to record drums for an unnamed artist, later confirmed to be Paul Weller. He also denied rumours that he would be the Best Man for Russell Brand's marriage to Katy Perry. In August, it was mentioned on a UK Music blog, Sourmash Music, that Gallagher had been working with Liverpool group The Sand Band. Lead singer David McDonnell has been co-writing with Gallagher and are looking to collaborate on future solo projects together. On 24 November 2010, Miles Kane revealed that Gallagher sang on a track from his debut solo album entitled My Fantasy. Kane also revealed that he will appear on Gallagher's forthcoming album, playing guitar. On 10 February 2011, Gallagher stated he has "not even started" his first solo record, despite Liam rumouring that he 'swiped' material from the Dig Out Your Soul sessions. "I am not recording new stuff, not just yet," he said to Talksport. "It'll be out when it's finished I guess. Well I've not even started it, so I don't know." Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds released a self-titled album on 17 October 2011; a collaboration album with Amorphous Androgynous will be released in 2012. He will be on tour, debuting in Dublin on 23 October 2011. The touring band for Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds includes David McDonnell (guitar), Russell Pritchard (bass), Mikey Rowe (keyboards) and Jeremy Stacey (drums). On 20 July 2011, Gallagher released a 47 second trailer of his first single "The Death of You and Me". The video for the debut single was released on 25 July at 8:21 am (GMT). See more [+]