Noel Gallagher (b. 29 May 1967) is an English singer-songwriter and musician best known for being the songwriter and guitarist for British band Oasis.
Role in Gorillaz[]
Noel, alongside Graham Coxon and Shelley FKA DRAM, provides backing vocals on the single We Got The Power, featuring Jehnny Beth, from Gorillaz' fifth studio album Humanz. He later joined Gorillaz on the Humanz Tour in 2017.
Musical career[]
Oasis Origins[]
Gallagher came into prominence in the 90s as a principal songwriter and guitarist for English Britpop band Oasis, who became famous for a feud with Blur in 1995. Oasis are one of the most successful Britpop bands of all time and have released various hit singles in the mid 90s.
The Battle of Britpop[]
Oasis eventually became known for their short-lived rivalry with Britpop peers Blur in 1995 that was dubbed "The Battle of Britpop" where singles Country House and Roll With It were pitted against each other, sparking just as many discussion about British class as there were about music, with Blur being seen as posh art school kids and Oasis being looked at as working class. Albarn and The Gallaghers frequently took shots at each other in the press, with Noel once going as far as saying he wished Damon would "catch AIDS and die" at the height of the fued before quickly apologizing and admitting "AIDS is not a laughing matter". In the end, Blur won the Singles Chart part of the battle with Country House beating Roll With It, but Oasis won in the Album Charts with (What's the Story) Morning Glory? beating out The Great Escape.
Present Days[]
After Oasis broke up in August 2009, Noel has gone on to form a successful solo career as Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, who’ve released 4 albums since 2011. Today, Albarn and Gallagher are good friends and have been so since 2009 after Gallagher ran into Albarn at a party and admitted that he and his family were fans of Gorillaz. In 2012, Gallagher played the Blur song "Tender" at the Teenage Cancer Trust charity gig at Royal Albert Hall with Albarn, Graham Coxon, and Paul Weller of The Jam. In 2015, Gallagher played the Demon Days track DARE live with Gorillaz at Paul Simonon's birthday party and Albarn and Gallagher recorded We Got The Power for Humanz together the next year. The title track of Gallagher’s solo album Who Built The Moon was inspired by Gorillaz, and Albarn was originally planned to be a guest vocalist on the track.
Discography[]
With Oasis[]
- Definitely Maybe (1994)
- (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995)
- Be Here Now (1997)
- Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (2000)
- Heathen Chemistry (2002)
- Don't Believe the Truth (2005)
- Dig Out Your Soul (2008)
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds[]
- Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (2011)
- Chasing Yesterday (2015)
- Who Built The Moon (2017)
- Council Skies (2023)
Trivia[]
- There is an unreleased alternate version of We Got The Power that features more significant contributions from Noel Gallagher and Graham Coxon, with both of them having more noticeable vocals while playing on guitar in said version.
- Liam Gallagher, Noel Gallagher's brother and Oasis' frontman, worked with Jamie Hewlett during his falling out with Albarn on a line of t-shirts called The White Guitar collection for the same Teenage Cancer Trust charity event where Albarn and Coxon played Tender with Noel.