Winning to Oasis Break-Up

Every break-up has a winner and a loser. There is always one person who has a sense of relief it is over while the other is consumed by regret. This is as true of bands as relationships. When Noel Gallagher left Oasis in 2009, he seemed determined to become the victor, claiming he “simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.” Since then, bile has flown freely as both he and his brother Liam have competed to show who could rebound quickest. With Beady Eye about to release its second album, BE, it seems like a good time to analyse who actually won the break-up and answer the question of who had the true talent in Oasis once and for all.

The divorce got off to an unexpected start as Liam announced that he and the remaining members of Oasis were going to continue making music, and renamed themselves Beady Eye. Keen to have the first word, they released Different Gear, Still Speeding in 2011. It was a bombastic remix of Oasis’s style, doubling down on old-fashioned rock ‘n’ roll. There were hits – particularly ‘Bring the Light’ – but nothing on the anthemic scale of Oasis classics like’ Wonderwall.’

While Liam was surviving, Noel was actively flourishing with his new-found freedom. He formed Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds to breathe life into the material that had been sitting unused while he was in Oasis. The result was a great British album that sounded like the Kinks, Oasis and the Beatles all at once. The melodic highs of ‘If I Had a Gun’ and ‘The Death of You and Me’ were higher than on any Gallagher album since What’s the Story (Morning Glory?)

This brings us up to the present day and the release of Beady Eye’s second album, BE. Liam’s vocals are on top form as usual and the whole band gets a workout with swelling brass sections. ‘Flick of the Finger’ sounds like the climax of an action film, and the whole album will go down well at festivals this summer. However, it is unlikely to draw people in who weren’t Oasis fans.

Although the first round has undoubtedly gone to Noel, the future is uncertain for the Gallagher brothers’ rivalry. The success of High Flying Birds seems to have filled his ambitions for the moment. His collaboration with psychedelic group hasn’t surfaced two years after it was recorded, and he has recently suggested he may never record another album.

Of course, even in the messiest splits, there’s always the chance for reconciliation. The brothers are asked about reuniting Oasis in nearly every expletive filled interview and their responses have varied wildly. Noel has been philosophical, saying “you can never predict what you’ll be doing in 20 years” while Liam has gone on the record as saying he would “do it for nowt.” With the 20^th anniversary of their debut album coming up next year it may be too soon to declare a victor.