It was unlikely that Noel Gallagher would let news of Beady Eye’s split go without comment, but the former Oasis leader has recently shown support to his brother Liam by urging the singer to release a solo album.
“I’m amazed Liam has chucked it in, but he won’t stay out of the limelight for long,” Noel told Q magazine. “I think Liam should make a solo record – put his balls on the line, put his name up in lights and go for it.”
If not exactly an olive branch, Noel’s comments offer a rare display of conciliatory behaviour towards his brother, with whom he fronted the Britpop band. Following the split of Liam’s group in October, Noel has responded with sympathy rather than snark: “I’m very fucking sad about Beady Eye, because I know they really wanted to make it work.
“I wanted it to work for them. I was out with Gem Archer the other night. The vibe I’m getting is that it was a shock, although not completely surprising.”
Although it’s still far from a full reconciliation, his statement offers a morsel of encouragement to those hoping for an Oasis reunion. Noel famously left the band following a punch-up in Paris, which destroyed Liam’s favourite guitar. “It’s with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight,” Noel wrote on Oasisnet in 2009. “People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.”
Liam, on the other hand, has stated in the past that his animosity towards his brother stems from a professional feud rather than personal: “I love our kid – as in the Noel that’s not in a band and not in the music business and not all that bullshit that people see he is,” Liam told Clash in 2013. “But the band Noel? The fuckin’ geezer that’s in the band? I fuckin’ absolutely fuckin’ despise [him].”
Rumours of an Oasis reunion have been frequent, most recently in the light of their May 2014 reissue of Definitely Maybe to mark its 20th anniversary and ahead of 2015’s Glastonbury lineup announcement. While Emily Eavis has confirmed that a headline performance from Oasis will not be on the cards this year, Noel has said that he’d still like to perform with his group High Flying Birds.
