It was a bitter sibling feud that led to one of Britain’s biggest bands splitting up 15 years ago.
But warring brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher today put their differences to one side as they announced Oasis are reuniting for a mammoth tour of the UK and Ireland next summer.
Fans of the Manchester rockers feared they would never see the brothers on the same stage again after their infamous split in 2009, which was prompted by a backstage brawl at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris.
But after weeks of speculation over a shock comeback, the Gallagher brothers have confirmed they will perform 14 shows across Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin for a tour which could generate £400million.
Liam, 51, and Noel, 57, are expected to pocket about £50million each, which will go a long way to raking back the money they lost during bitter divorce battles.
The eight-figure sum is said to have persuaded Noel – who once said ‘I liked my Mum until she gave birth to Liam’ – to bury the hatchet with his younger brother.
Noel’s divorce from Sara MacDonald last year after 12 years cost him £20million of his rumoured £53million fortune. His net worth is believed to be far larger than Liam’s rumoured £6million, as Noel wrote most of the Oasis songs and continues to collect the lion’s share of royalties.
Meanwhile back in 2015, Liam and his ex-wife Nicole Appleton, a singer with the 1990s group All Saints, ran up more than £800,000 in legal bills while arguing about how to divide assets worth almost £11million after their messy divorce.
The judge ruled at the time that the assets should be split in half, with both getting nearly £5.5million. Gallagher was represented by Baroness Shackleton, a relative of Nigella Lawson, who represented Prince Charles in his 1996 divorce from Princess Diana and Sir Paul McCartney in his 2008 divorce from Heather Mills.
Following Noel’s split from Sara, he moved into the five-star Claridge’s hotel in Mayfair, where he stayed in a £2,500-a-night suite for almost a year. It’s reported that Sara kept the couple’s £8million Hampshire mansion as well.
It was Sara, a PR executive, who is believed to have stood in the way of an Oasis reunion for so many years.
In a series of tweets in 2019, Liam said that despite his brother being ‘desperate’ to spend time with him, he would not because of his wife. ‘Your mrs won’t let ya,’ he wrote.
Sara and Liam never saw eye to eye, clashing repeatedly over many years.
The pair first met in Ibiza in 2000, ahead of Noel’s divorce from his first wife Meg Matthews a year later. Liam then failed to attend Noel and Sara’s wedding in 2011.
And in 2020, Sara revealed that Liam had never met either of his nephews – Donovan, 16, and Sonny, 14.
Earlier this year, Noel spoke about his new life as a divorced man. He told Matt Morgan’s Patreon podcast: ‘I can get on the bike and go down to the canal. And get on the canal outside my wonderful ex-wife’s house and give her a little wave, and go, ‘You didn’t take this from me!”
Speaking about his time at Claridge’s, he said: ‘I had some proper f**king good times there – it was a proper good time. I lived there for most of last year, I was there three or four nights a week.’
When Noel and Sara announced their divorce in January last year, they said: ‘Noel and Sara will together continue to look after their children who remain their priority. Noel and Sara ask the media to respect their privacy and that of our family at this time.’
It was Noel’s split that seemingly prompted Liam to reach out to his brother in a bid to end their long feud.
Liam posted a series of tweets including a YouTube link to John McCormack’s song It’s A Long Way To Tipperary before sharing some more cryptic tunes with his followers.
After sharing links to The Beatles’ hits Two of Us and The Long and Winding Road, he then tweeted: ‘Hollies he ain’t heavy he’s my brother – Google search,’. Comments flooded below about a possible reunion.
Liam’s fiancée Debbie Gwyther has also been trying to get Liam and Noel to patch things up, according to reports.
Liam has previously been married to Nicole and Patsy Kensit. He has three children, Lennon, Molly and Gene.
Yesterday, Liam rejected claims that Oasis were reforming because they are ‘broke’ following Noel’s £20million divorce.
The band’s former lead vocalist told X users that ‘your attitude stinks’ after they suggested Oasis were getting back together because they need money.
He replied after one user posted: ‘It’s better off left it the 90s … they must be skint.’ Another was told the same after claiming that ‘cash is drying up’.
This morning, Oasis ended all speculation by confirming a string of gigs in Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin for next summer.
The 14-show tour will run from July 4 to August 17, kicking off at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium before the brothers pack out Heaton Park in Manchester, Wembley in London, Murrayfield in Edinburgh and Croke Park in Dublin.
Despite speculation that Oasis will be on the bill at Glastonbury 2025, it’s understood the band will not be performing at Worthy Farm. However, plans are underway for Oasis to go to other continents outside of Europe later next year.
Announcing the Oasis Live 25 tour alongside the brothers’ first picture together in years, the legendary band said: ‘The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised.’
The Oasis website crashed immediately after the announcement as fans were sent into a frenzy. The reunion comes a day before the date the band split on August 28 2009.
Formed in 1991, the Britpop group rose to fame with hits like Wonderwall, Don’t Look Back In Anger and Stop Crying Your Heart Out.
They went on to become one of the biggest bands in British music history before their break-up in 2009.
The brothers went on to have successful separate careers, with Noel fronting the group Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.