Noel Gallagher

Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born May 29, 1967 in Longsight, Manchester) is the lead songwriter and guitarist with the British rock band Oasis. He is the older brother of Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher and the two are often pigeon-holed as squabbling siblings.

Biography

Noel was born in Longsight, Manchester to Irish parents Peggy and Thomas Gallagher. He is the middle child of three, his elder brother Paul was born in 1966, and Liam was born 1972. The Gallagher brothers grew up in the suburb of Burnage.

Related Topics:
Longsight - Manchester - Irish - Brother - 1966 - 1972 - Suburb - Burnage

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Noel first began to teach himself to play guitar at the age of 13, imitating his favourite songs from the radio. Both he and Liam were regular truants and in their teens were often in trouble with the police - they allegedly broke into cars and stole bicycles, and at the age of thirteen, Noel received six months' probation for robbing a corner shop. He attended St Robert's Infant School in Longsight (1971), St Bernard's Primary in Burnage (1972) and St Mark's Secondary in Didsbury (1978). His childhood nickname was Brezhnev, after the former Russian president known for his bushy eyebrows.

Related Topics:
Guitar - Radio - Truants - Police - Car - Bicycle - Probation - Corner shop - 1971 - 1972 - Didsbury - 1978 - Brezhnev - Bushy eyebrows

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In April 1984 (some sources suggest April 1986), Peggy left her husband due to his violent mood swings brought about by his alcoholism, taking their three boys with her. Noel has since maintained a strained relationship with his father, notwithstanding periods in the 1980s in which all the Gallagher siblings (along with numerous cousins and uncles) at one time or another worked for their father's construction company. Other jobs endured by Noel include being a sign writer for an estate agent, as well as working in a bed factory and a bakery.

Related Topics:
1984 - 1986 - Alcoholism - 1980s

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Having left his father's building company, Noel took a job at another building firm sub-contracted to British Gas, until sustaining an injury whereby a heavy cap from a steel gas pipe landed on his right foot, crushing it. Following a period of recuperation, Gallagher was offered a less physically demanding role in the company's storehouse, freeing up time in which to practice guitar and write songs. Gallagher now claims to have written at least three of the songs on Definitely Maybe in this storehouse. Much of the late 1980s found Gallagher unemployed and living in a bedsit, occupying his time with drugs, songwriting and guitar playing.

Related Topics:
Building - British Gas - Steel - Definitely Maybe - 1980s - Bedsit - Drug

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In 1988, Noel auditioned to be vocalist for the band Inspiral Carpets. Though rejected for the position, he was hired by the band as a guitar technician. In 1992, he returned from an American tour with the band to find that his brother had become lead singer with local band Oasis. The band also featured Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs on rhythm guitar, Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan on bass and Tony McCaroll on drums. It transpired that Liam had joined the band with the hope of adding Noel, and his songwriting abilities, to the formula. Noel attended an Oasis concert at Manchester's Boardwalk, finding himself unimpressed by the group's act. After cajoling by Liam, he agreed to join the band on the condition that he maintain creative control of the group and become its sole songwriter. The rest of the band agreed, at which point Oasis undertook a year of intensive rehearsing.

Related Topics:
1988 - Inspiral Carpets - 1992 - American - Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs - Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan - Tony McCaroll

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Perhaps as a result of Noel's perceived arrogance, or genuine self-belief, Oasis resisted the route of the typical unsigned band. Neglecting to send out any demos to record companies, the band waited instead for a record deal to come to them, which it did in the form of Creation Records' Alan McGee. After seeing the band perform at Glasgow club King Tut's - a gig they allegedly bullied their way into - McGee invited Oasis to meet with him a week later in London, at which point they were signed to a six album contract. Their first album, Definitely Maybe, was released two years later in 1994 and was a critical and commercial success, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in British history. However, tension mounted between Noel and McCaroll, and in 1995, the band asked the drummer to leave. He was replaced by Alan White.

Related Topics:
Arrogance - Demos - Creation Records - Alan McGee - Glasgow - Definitely Maybe - 1994 - Critic - 1995 - Alan White

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1995 saw the release of Oasis' second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?. Though it suffered initial critical apathy, the album became the second fastest-selling album in the UK. With the help of a well-publicised feud between the Gallaghers and members of fellow britpop band Blur, Morning Glory became the springboard to mainstream commercial success for Noel and the band. The Gallaghers became household names, and as the momentum of the album built, Oasis went on to become one of the most popular and successful British acts of the 1990s. The album even propelled the band to success in America, albeit temporarily. Noel's extensive catalogue of songs - ironically written in the storehouses and bedsits he had so bemoaned in the 80s - were the fuel behind Oasis' success in the 90s. Noel has revealed that he suffers from dyslexia, and finds the disorder to be something of an challenge in the process of writing songs.

Related Topics:
1995 - (What's the Story) Morning Glory? - Blur - 1990s - Dyslexia

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1995 also saw Gallagher join his friends Paul Weller, Paul McCartney and Johnny Depp to form the Smokin' Mojo Filters. The supergroup, assembled by Weller, recorded The Beatles' 1969 hit "Come Together" (the song's lyrics "He no Mojo filter" inspiring the name for the makeshift band) for the charity album Help!. Noel has also collaborated with the Chemical Brothers, Ian Brown, The Stands, The Prodigy and Paul Weller, amongst others.

Related Topics:
1995 - Paul Weller - Paul McCartney - Johnny Depp - Smokin' Mojo Filters - Supergroup - The Beatles - 1969 - Come Together - Chemical Brothers - Ian Brown - The Stands - The Prodigy

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Gallagher is a keen fan of music and has played a part in pushing and inspiring the careers of many new bands including Coldplay, Travis and The Zutons. Richard Ashcroft (formerly of The Verve, and the person for whom the song "Cast No Shadow" was written) once stated that "Noel Gallagher opened our eyes; for a lot of young people in the North West, to pick up a guitar." Oasis are also attributed by some with helping to resurrect stadium rock concerts in England, most noticeably with their record-breaking summer shows at Knebworth in August 1996.

Related Topics:
Coldplay - Travis - The Zutons - The Verve - Knebworth - 1996

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Gallagher married girlfriend Meg Mathews in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 5th, 1997, preceding the release of the third Oasis album, Be Here Now, on 21 August. Following the worldwide success of Morning Glory, it became their most eagerly anticipated album to date, possibly the most eagerly awaited album of the 1990s. As with the previous two albums, all the tracks were written by Noel. After the initial blaze of publicity, positive critical reviews, and commercial success, the album did not live up to long-term expectations, and the public's goodwill towards Be Here Now was short-lived. The album was ultimately regarded by many as a bloated, over-indulgent version of Oasis, defended by Noel as being due to his drug-addicted state at the time. Noel began to suffer panic attacks during this period, his lonely, paranoid state inspiring the song Gas Panic, subsequently included on the 2000 album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants.

Related Topics:
Married - Meg Mathews - Las Vegas - Nevada - June 5th - 1997 - Be Here Now - 21 August - Panic attack - Paranoid - 2000 - Standing on the Shoulder of Giants

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After the near-hysterical hype surrounding the release of Be Here Now had started to lessen, critical response to the band became calmer and more considered, leading to an inevitable media backlash. In 1997, Noel was criticised for attending a high profile and well-publicised media party at 10 Downing Street, hosted by the newly-elected Prime Minister Tony Blair, along with other celebrities and industry figures that had supported New Labour in the run-up to the general election. The perception of Gallagher, as someone now mixing with politicians, conflicted with the authentic "working class hero" status championed through songs such as Up In The Sky. In 1999, after a row with Noel, Bonehead quit the band, with Guigsy soon following. As a result, the fourth album, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, was recorded by just Noel, Liam and White, with Noel playing all guitar parts. The album customarily peaked at number one, but was met with an even greater level of contempt by the critics than their previous effort. On January 27, 2000, Mathews gave birth to a daughter, Anais. However, Gallagher and Mathews divorced shortly afterwards, in January 2001, following Liam's own announcement of his separation from Patsy Kensit. It is rumoured that Mathews could not abide Noel's desire to move to the countryside and missed partying with her friends in London. Wonderwall - arguably Oasis' most famous and successful song - was written for Mathews, and, perhaps as a result, the band have played it less and less since the divorce. He has since entered a long-term relationship with Sara MacDonald.

Related Topics:
1997 - 10 Downing Street - Prime Minister - Tony Blair - New Labour - 1999 - January 27 - 2000 - Divorce - January - 2001 - Patsy Kensit - London - Wonderwall - Sara MacDonald

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The recruiting of Andy Bell and Gem Archer for their fifth studio album, as well as allowing a greater level of lyrical input from the other band members, proved a shrewd move on Noel's part, and in 2002 Heathen Chemistry was released, to reviews far more positive than for the band's previous two albums.

Related Topics:
Andy Bell - Gem Archer - 2002 - Heathen Chemistry

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