Background and career
William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter who is the lead singer and co-founder of the rock band Oasis. Gallagher fronted Beady Eye, an offshoot of Oasis, between 2009 and 2014, before starting a solo career in 2017. One of the most recognisable figures in British rock music, he is noted for his distinctive vocal style and outspoken personality. Gallagher was interested in joining a band called the Rain. After mutual agreement, the band underwent a name change to Oasis, and his older brother Noel was initially approached to be their manager. Noel was subsequently extended an invitation to join the band as their lead guitarist and songwriter, which he accepted. The band's debut album, Definitely Maybe (1994), was a critical and commercial success amidst the emergence of Britpop. Their 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 failed to revive it; however, all of their subsequent albums topped the UK charts, and they continued to tour, playing gigs to 1,000,000+ people worldwide, but particularly in Europe, and South America. In August 2009, following Noel's departure from Oasis, Gallagher and the remaining band members would go on to form Beady Eye, with whom he released two studio albums before they disbanded in 2014. In 2017, Gallagher started his solo career with the release of his debut solo album, As You Were (2017), which proved to be a critical and commercial success. It topped the UK Albums Chart and was the ninth fastest-selling debut album of the 2010s in the UK, with over 103,000 units sold in its first week. In 2018, the album was certified platinum with over 300,000 units sold in the UK. His second album, Why Me? Why Not, received mostly positive reviews and topped the UK charts upon its release in September 2019. This made it his tenth chart-topping album including eight with Oasis, and it also became the fastest-selling vinyl of 2019. In March 2010, he was voted the greatest frontman of all time in a reader poll by Q magazine. In 2019, he received the MTV Europe Music Award for "Rock Icon". Gallagher's third album, C'mon You Know, was released in 2022 and became his fourth solo album to debut at number one on the UK Albums Chart. In early 2024, Gallagher collaborated with ex-Stone Roses musician John Squire on the studio album Liam Gallagher John Squire, which was released that March and continued Gallagher's streak of debuting atop the British charts. Oasis' time was marked by turbulence, especially during the peak of Britpop, during which Gallagher was involved in several disputes with Noel. Their conflicts and wild lifestyles regularly made tabloid headlines. The band had a rivalry with fellow Britpop band Blur.
Gallagher was born in the Longsight area of Manchester on 21 September 1972 to Irish immigrant parents Peggy and Tommy Gallagher from Charlestown, County Mayo, and Duleek, County Meath, respectively. As the youngest of three children, he has two elder brothers, Paul and Noel. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Ashburn Avenue and then Cranwell Drive in the Manchester suburb of Burnage. As the eldest child, Paul was given his own bedroom while Liam had to share his bedroom with Noel. When he was 10, Peggy took him and his brothers and left abusive Tommy, whom she divorced four years later. Although Liam maintained sporadic contact with his father throughout his teens, their issues remain unresolved. While drinking at a pub after an Oasis show in Ireland during the height of their fame, Liam noticed his father from across the room and had to be calmed down by Noel. A leaked phone call later revealed that he subsequently called his father and threatened to break his legs if he ever saw him again. Gallagher was educated at St. Bernard's RC Primary School and the Barlow Roman Catholic High School in Didsbury. Despite common reports that he was expelled at age 16 for fighting, he was actually suspended for three months. He then returned to school, where he completed his last term and gained four GCSEs in 1990. He preferred sports at a young age, having no interest in music. During his teens, he suffered a blow to the head with a hammer from a student at a rival school, which he credits with changing his attitude towards music. After this incident, he became infatuated with the idea of joining a band. He became confident in his ability to sing and began listening to bands like the Beatles, the Stone Roses, the La's, the Who, the Kinks, the Jam, and T. Rex. In the process, he became obsessed with the Beatles' John Lennon, and would later sarcastically claim to be Lennon reincarnated despite being born eight years prior to Lennon's death. Liam and Noel attended a Stone Roses benefit gig at International 2 in 1988; both brothers claim that if they had not gone to that gig, Oasis would never have happened. Liam later claimed: "That was my favourite gig of all time, killed me dead, changed me fuckin' life. If I hadn't gone that night, I'd probably be sitting in some pub in Levenshulme." He would also help Noel with his job as a roadie for Inspiral Carpets and worked as a tax collector for HM Revenue and Customs.
When school friend Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan invited Gallagher to join his band The Rain as a vocalist, he agreed. He was the band's co-songwriter, along with guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs. Noel has since openly mocked this writing partnership, describing them as being "just awful", and Liam also admitted that they were "shit". The band only rehearsed once a week and did not get many gigs. It was at one of their rare shows in 1991 at the Boardwalk in Manchester that Noel, having recently returned from touring internationally as a roadie for Inspiral Carpets, saw them perform. In 1993, Oasis played a four-song set at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow, where Alan McGee of Creation Records discovered them and signed them for a six-album deal. The band's debut album Definitely Maybe was released on 28 August 1994, and went on to become the fastest-selling British debut album of all time. Liam was praised for his vocal contributions to the album, and his presence made Oasis a popular live act. Critics cited influences from the Beatles and Sex Pistols. Liam's attitude garnered attention from the British tabloid press, which often ran stories concerning his alleged drug use and behaviour. In 1997, Definitely Maybe was named the 14th greatest album of all time in a "Music of the Millennium" poll conducted by HMV. In Channel 4's "100 Greatest Albums" countdown in 2005, the album was placed at No. 6. In 2006, NME placed the album at No. 3 in a list of the greatest British albums ever. In the 2006 book of British Hit Singles and Albums, the album was voted the best album of all time, with the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band finishing second. Q placed it at No. 5 on their greatest albums of all-time list in 2006, and NME hailed it as the greatest album of all time that same year.
The band's second album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? was even more successful, becoming the third-best selling album in British history. Around this time, Oasis became embroiled in a well-documented media-fuelled feud with fellow Britpop band Blur. The differing styles of the bands now leading the Britpop movement—Oasis a working-class northern band, and Blur a middle-class southern band—made the media perceive them as natural rivals. In August 1995, Blur and Oasis released new singles on the same day; Blur's "Country House" outsold Oasis' "Roll with It" by 58,000 copies during the week. When the band mimed the single on Top of the Pops, Liam pretended to play Noel's guitar, and Noel pretended to sing, taking a jibe at the show's lip-syncing format. (What's the Story) Morning Glory? is considered to be a seminal record of the Britpop era and as one of the best albums of the 1990s, and appears in several charts as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2010, Rolling Stone commented that "the album is a triumph, full of bluster, bravado, and surprising tenderness" and that it "capped a true golden age for Britpop". The magazine ranked the album at No. 378 on its 2012 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album's enduring popularity within the UK was reflected when it won the British Album of 30 Years award at the Brit Awards 2010. The award was voted on by the public to decide the greatest Best Album winner in the history of the Brit Awards. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Oasis's third album, Be Here Now, was released on 21 August 1997 and set a new record as the fastest-selling album in UK Chart history. The album was denounced by Noel in later years, but Liam has defended it. On the first day of release, Be Here Now sold over 424,000 copies and became the fastest-selling album in British chart history; initial reviews were overwhelmingly positive. The band's long-time producer Owen Morris said the recording sessions were marred by arguments and drug abuse, and that the band's only motivations were commercial. By 2008, the album had sold eight million copies worldwide. It was the best-selling album of 1997 in the UK, with 1.47 million units sold. The album topped the UK Vinyl Albums Chart in 2016, 19 years after its original release. Creation Records shut down in 1999, after which the Gallagher brothers set up their own label, Big Brother Recordings, for all future Oasis releases. Future albums and singles were marked with codes starting with "RKID" ("our kid", Northern English slang for a sibling or younger relative). Oasis returned in 2000 with the album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. Founding members Bonehead and Guigsy left during the recording, leaving Liam as the only member remaining from the band's pre-Oasis lineup. The album featured the band's first song written by Liam, "Little James", written for his then-wife Patsy Kensit's son James. This song, along with the album as a whole, received generally mixed reviews. Oasis's next album, Heathen Chemistry, was released in 2002 and featured three more songs written by Liam. One of them was "Songbird", an acoustic ballad about his love for Nicole Appleton, whom he would later marry. The song was the fourth single from the album and reached No. 3 in the UK charts. Later that year, Gallagher broke several teeth and sustained injuries to his face after a fight broke out at a Munich bar. He and Oasis drummer Alan White were arrested but released without charge. Oasis had to cancel the shows in Munich and Düsseldorf due to Liam's injuries. 2005 saw the release of Oasis's sixth studio album, Don't Believe the Truth, featuring a further three compositions by Liam: "Love Like a Bomb" (co-written with rhythm guitarist Gem Archer), "The Meaning of Soul", and "Guess God Thinks I'm Abel". The album won two Q Awards: a special People's Choice Award and Best Album. Gallagher joined the rest of Oasis to receive the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award at the Brit Awards 2007. As the band picked up the award, he commented on stage, "Seeing as we don't get nominated for this shit no more, this'll have to do." 2008 saw the release of the band's seventh and final album, Dig Out Your Soul, which featured three Liam-written songs: "I'm Outta Time", "Ain't Got Nothin'", and "Soldier On". Dig Out Your Soul went straight to No. 1 on the UK Album Charts and reached No. 5 in the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. In the UK, the album sold 90,000 copies on its first day of release, making it the second-fastest-selling album of 2008, behind Coldplay's Viva la Vida. It debuted on the UK Albums Chart at No. 1 with first-week sales of 200,866 copies, making it the 51st fastest selling album ever in the UK. The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S. with 53,000 copies sold. It is the highest chart position of any Oasis album in the U.S. since Be Here Now, which debuted at No. 2, but fewer total opening week sales than Don't Believe the Truth. It spent over 30 weeks on the French albums chart. Many critics lauded Dig Out Your Soul as one of the band's strongest albums, with one opining that "it seems Oasis have made something that can happily play alongside Morning Glory". In August 2009, during the tour in support of the album, the band split up due to Noel not being able to work with Liam any more. It is Oasis's last studio album released to date.
In November 2009, Gallagher announced that he and former Oasis band members had written new material as part of a new project, and could be gigging as early as a couple of months, and stated that "Oasis are done, this is something new". On 19 November 2009, he announced that he would be recording an album with Gem Archer, Andy Bell, and Chris Sharrock around Christmas time, with a possible release date in July 2010. He told MTV: "We've been demoing some songs that we've had for a bit. Just doing that, on the quiet, not making a big fuss about it. After Christmas we might go in the studio and record them and hopefully have an album out in July." He later said that the band would "do it in a different kind of way now. I'll try and reconnect with a new band, new songs, and I'm feeling confident about the songs." He was reported to have been "feeling a million percent confident that they could be better than Oasis". In March 2010, Gallagher was voted the greatest frontman of all time in a reader poll by Q magazine. On 16 March 2010, he announced that his new band would be releasing their first single in October with an album to follow the next year. On 9 November 2010, Beady Eye released their first single "Bring the Light" as a free download. The next single from the album, "The Roller", was released in January 2011. The band's debut album Different Gear, Still Speeding was released on 28 February 2011. On the album, the songwriting is credited as a collaborative work between Gallagher, Andy Bell, and Gem Archer. The BBC and The Independent both commented that the album bests Oasis' later music, if not lacking innovation from the previous group, while NME praised the album's simplicity and variety and cited "Bring the Light" as a surprising highlight. The album is generally agreed to have surpassed expectations, with Mojo remarking that the album "shaped up better than many imagined", and Q saying that it "decimates all negative preconceptions". On 3 April 2011, Beady Eye headlined a Japan Tsunami Disaster relief concert at the Brixton Academy. Gallagher organised the star-studded event as a fundraiser for the devastating event that happened on 11 March 2011. The event raised over £150,000 for the British Red Cross, which was working in the earthquake and tsunami-hit country. Gallagher also announced that Beady Eye's version of the Beatles' "Across the Universe", which they performed on the night, would be released as a charity single to benefit the fundraising. In March 2012, Gallagher stated that Beady Eye would play Oasis songs. They did this for the first time when they supported the Stone Roses in June 2012. This prompted speculation as to whether an Oasis reunion was in the offing. In August 2012, Beady Eye performed "Wonderwall" at the London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony. The band's second studio album BE was released on 12 June 2013. It was recorded with Dave Sitek between November 2012 and March 2013. The band embarked on a corresponding tour playing a "secret gig" at Glastonbury. In contrast to his headlining spot with Oasis, Beady Eye featured as one of the first bands to open the festival. Gallagher stated it was a "refreshing" change. BE was not as successful in the United States as Gallagher and the rest of the band had hoped. This hindered their American popularity, and it was announced there would be no tour dates scheduled for the United States. BE received a mixed critical reception. Many positive reviews complimented the band's progression from their debut album, while negative reviews criticised the album's lyrics and production. Simon Harper of Clash magazine said, "Shades of light and dark ripple throughout and keep the listener guessing... (On 'Soul Love') Liam Gallagher's cosmic vibe is matched by the first distinct stamp of producer David Sitek's ambient adventuring, which commandeers the second-half of the song, letting it drift dreamily skywards. This is what permeates BE, making it sonically enchanting." On 25 October 2014, Gallagher announced that Beady Eye had disbanded. His post on Twitter stated that the band were "no longer" and thanked fans for their support.
