Cain and Abel. Romulus and Remus. Noel and Liam. There are a number of famous sibling rivalries in history and myth, but few brotherly spats are as notorious as the one between the Gallagher brothers.
Whether it was Liam’s favoured insult of comparing his older brother to a potato, or Noel claiming that he “couldn’t stand” the sound of Liam’s voice, it’s a struggle to comprehend that this once-warring duo are now poised to reunite on stage for the first time since 2009.
Yet that is what the world is about to witness: two of the UK’s biggest rock n’ roll stars will perform live in Cardiff on Friday night (4 July), kicking off their mammoth reunion tour and marking the end of a years-long feud.
Ahead of the tour, we’ve seen plenty of reflections about the Gallagher brothers’ most fiery clashes, along with a ranking of some of their sharpest insults. But what about those moments where they’ve actually acknowledged their mutual talent?
With that in mind, we’ve compiled 10 genuinely lovely things the two brothers have said about each other, from the time of their split to their recent reconciliation.
1. Liam offers a bittersweet line about the band’s breakup in an interview with the BBC in 2009
“I love him to bits but we just don’t get on. Me and our kid have never been that close anyway. Alright, we were in the band but we kept ourselves to each other, he’d do his thing and I’d do my thing, I’ve got my friends, he’s got his friends.”
2. Liam compliments Noel’s songwriting abilities in an interview with The Independent in 2017
“I miss being in a band with my brother,” Liam said. “He’s gotta do his thing, I’ve gotta do my thing. He’s got an album coming out – I’m sure it’s gonna be great.”
He added: “Noel’s a good songwriter and I’ve said a million times before, I’m not really having a pop at him, I’m just letting him know I’m here.”
3. Liam offers to buy Noel a round on Twitter in 2018
“I forgive you now let’s get the BIG O back together and stop f***ing about the drinks are on me.”
4. Liam expresses love for his brother in an interview with Zane Lowe for Radio X’s Beats 1 in 2019
“The only thing you’re missing is, I guess, the paychecks, and like, me brother,” Liam said. “Whether I’m digging him out or we’re having a crack at each other, I adored him. I love him.
“He’s my brother. You know what I mean? You can veer off and go, oh yeah … he said that little bit and that, you know what I mean, but the main core of it is pure love, man.”
5. Noel describes Liam’s track “Songbird” as “perfect” on Radio X’s The Matt Morgan Podcast in 2021
“I thought ‘Songbird’ by Liam was great,” Noel said “We did a demo of it and it was more like ‘Love Me Do’ by The Beatles. It’s got a mouth organ on it and it sounds like The Beatles. Then we took all the instruments off it and it became this acoustic thing that I think is perfect.
6. Liam admits that Oasis should never have split up in an interview with The Times in 2022
“[Oasis] should never have split up,” he said. “We split up nearly 13 years ago. It’s ridiculous. We can go on about whose fault it is, but he’s his own man.”
7. Noel reminisces on the impact him and his brother have had on popular culture with Radio X’s Johnny Vaughan in 2023
“It just makes me think we did something really brilliant and timeless and yeah, it makes me feel good.”
8. Noel praises Liam’s voice and attitude in an interview with John Robb at Sifters Records, Manchester, in 2024
“I can’t sing ‘Slide Away’ and ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’ and ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Star’ and ‘Columbia’ and all that,” Noel said. “I mean I can do it but it’s not the same. It’s the delivery or the tone of his voice and the attitude. I don’t have the same attitude as him.”
He added: “Mine’s half a Guinness on a Tuesday. It’s alright. Liam’s is 10 shots of tequila on a f***ing Friday night.”
Speaking about the track “Supersonic”, Noel said: “I sing ‘Supersonic’ with the same melody, the same words, the same inflections, but when he sings it, it’s a bit more menacing. When I would sing a song it would sound good, when he would sing it, it would sound great.”
9. Liam dedicates “Half the World Away” to his brother at Reading Festival in 2024
“I want to dedicate this next song to Noel f***ing Gallagher,” Liam said.
The gig ended with the revelation of a date and time which was then shared by both Gallagher brothers on social media, sparking debate as to whether the two brothers would be reuniting.
10. Liam tweets about his “incredible” Easter celebrations with Noel and family in 2025
“We had a BIBLICAL Easter Sunday Noel Donavan and Sonny popped over to ours for a cup of tea it was absolutely incredible to meet the young guvs,” Liam said.
