Let's put our conspiracy theorist edition bucket hats on for a minute; it wouldn't surprise us if Noel and Liam Gallagher had already hatched a plan for an Oasis reunion in 2025, after their respective solo commitments are done. And the rest of this year, and up until the announcement in 2024, will involve them having fun with the media while they build up to the announcement. Why do we say this? Noel is again fuelling the fire. Well, kind of.
For the second time after his French interview in March where he seemed to break his thaw on the subject of a reunion, he's responded to an Oasis comeback question in an interview to tell brother / Oasis singer Liam to 'call him". This time in a UK appearance on Talk Sport.
"Well I put it out there," responded Noel to the question of whether he was going to 'get back' with Liam. "He should call me because he's forever going on about it, and you'd have thought by now he'd have some kind of plan. If he's got a plan… he doesn't have to speak to me, I know we won't speak to me [because] he's a coward. He should get some of his people, his agent to call my people and say, 'This is what we're thinking'. Then we'll have a conversation about it. Until then he's being a little bit disingenuous with his beloved fans."
OK, there's another theory then – Noel is just being completely honest about the situation here. But does he actually want to reunite Oasis with Liam?
"I've always said that things are best left in the past," replied Noel in a seemingly non-committal tone. "The thing with Liam is, you read these things every day; he's saying on his [Twitter] 'It's happening', so he gets people's hopes up all over the world. And then I get asked about and I have to look like I'm dropping a big foot on it." Then, again addressing his brother in the video above Noel reiterates; "Call me – call me, let's see what you've got to say."
Noel has his own thoughts as to why Liam hasn't called – if indeed this isn't all a big media charade for the brothers' amusement while things are going on behind the scenes, Axl / Slash style. "I suspect he doesn't want to do it but he just likes saying he does want to do it. Because he's got his own thing going on – he's selling out Knebworth and all that kind of thing. What does he want to share it with me for? I'm cool with what I'm doing, he's smashing it. Why be disingenuous with people? You know it's not happening. If you've got a plan, give me a ring.
"I'm open to a phone call for a conversation. Other than that, stop playing with the kids – it's not fair on the fans. It's not fair."
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As for why Liam would want to share the stage with his brother in Oasis again, Noel answered that question himself earlier in the interview.
"There's not a day goes by when I don't hear it on the radio or get asked about it," he admits. "Young lads, who were babies when we split up, will come up to you and they're into it so much. It's changed their lives, and they got it from their older brother and all that kind of thing. And it's honestly an amazing thing. It makes me think that we did something really, really timeless and special. And actually, we did something that none of us were aware of at the time. We were just in a band and we did this thing. We were just going from one thing to the next, and since we broke up you have a lot of time to take a step back.
"When I do my own gigs they're great but when you do those [Oasis] songs there's something else. It's like when you go and see the great like McCartney, for instance. He does his new stuff and his Wings stuff and it's great, but then when he does the stuff it's different."
For his part, Liam has now responded to Noel via Twitter's open forum – namely his brother's "coward" accusation anyway. And it's pretty fiery.
"I don’t wish AIDS on people," Liam began in reference to Noel's infamous 1995 quote to the Observer wishing it on Blur's Damon Albarn (they've since made up and collaborated on music). "I turn up and play the MUSIC for the people of MANCHESTER who have just had a terror attack while you sit on your dingy sipping champagne and you got the audacity to call me a COWARD sit down you 🛎 end," Liam added.
I don’t wish AIDS on people I turn up and play the MUSIC for the people of MANCHESTER who have just had a terror attack while you sit on your dingy sipping champagne and you got the audacity to call me a COWARD sit down you 🛎 endMay 24, 2023
Ouch. That's pretty below the belt. Maybe they really are still at war after all. Hopefully their agents can help bridge these troubled waters.
Rob is the Reviews Editor for GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars, so spends most of his waking hours (and beyond) thinking about and trying the latest gear while making sure our reviews team is giving you thorough and honest tests of it. He's worked for guitar mags and sites as a writer and editor for nearly 20 years but still winces at the thought of restringing anything with a Floyd Rose.
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