Noel and Liam Gallagher have revealed how their famously hostile relationship gradually softened during the blockbuster Oasis reunion tour, despite neither brother offering an apology for the bitter disputes that kept them apart for 16 years.
The story is told in the new documentary “Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger,” which premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday night. The brothers appeared together on the red carpet, posing with their arms around each other in a public display of their renewed bond.
The 41-date “Live ’25” tour reportedly earned each brother around £100 million and is expected to be followed by another run next year. However, the film reveals that their reconciliation was far from certain when rehearsals began.
Noel, 59, said the tensions that once defined their relationship had faded, allowing them to meet on more equal terms.
“All the little things that used to annoy us about each other have gone away. We have come out of it now as equals.”
“Here is a word which I never would have thought I would say about him: delightful.”
He added: “We get along now, we text like normal people. The music brought us together.”
Noel also admitted he was surprised by the emotional impact of performing with his younger brother again. During much of the tour, he turned his back on the audience to conceal his tears.
Despite speaking openly in the documentary, neither brother attended a press conference at the festival, avoiding questions about their relationship. Co-director Will Lovelace said: “They seem to be getting on pretty well.”
Reunion Began Without an Apology
Liam said the brothers repaired their relationship “Without saying a word”.
No apology was made for the explosive arguments that led to Oasis splitting in 2009 or the public insults exchanged during the years that followed. These included Liam’s remarks about Noel’s daughter Anais and his now ex-wife Sara.
Sara is not discussed in the documentary, although Noel’s divorce has been widely viewed as helping to clear the way for the reunion. Liam had previously compared her to Yoko Ono, who was famously blamed for contributing to the break-up of The Beatles.
When pressed on the years of hostility, Liam said: “Leave it out mate, we had a little argument, you know what I mean.”
He later added: “I didn’t mean it to be the way that it was.”
The filmmakers said the brothers were barely speaking when production began during rehearsals. They travelled separately, while the tour promoters reportedly arranged to pay them only after all 41 shows had been completed because of their long history of conflict.
The pair were initially interviewed separately, with Noel admitting he struggled to imagine sharing a stage with Liam again.
Their first rehearsal-room meeting was visibly uncomfortable, with neither brother able to make eye contact. Liam entered, questioned why a baffle had been placed around the drums and asked: “Shall we start?”
He left immediately after completing his vocals, prompting Noel to tell his bandmates: “He comes in a bad mood. He leaves in a bad mood. He just comes in and then f***s off.”
Creator, writer and producer Steven Knight said the team had no idea whether the reunion would survive.
“We didn’t really know how it was going to go when we started. These are British working-class men, they are not going to hug and kiss each other.
“It wasn’t until they were into the tour that they were in a place where they were able to sit down with each other.”
Opening Night Changes Everything
Uncertainty continued until the first concert in Cardiff. Liam declined to attend a full run-through the previous evening and arrived at the venue just 20 minutes before the show.
The documentary shows Noel pacing nervously in the loading bay as he waits for his brother. Recalling Liam’s arrival, Noel said: “He asks: ‘What’s the catering like?’”
Noel was then surprised when Liam took his hand so they could walk onto the stage together.
Liam offered a characteristically straightforward explanation for how they overcame the tension: “You just have to put on your big boy pants and get on with it. Do it well and move people.”
Relations continued to improve as the tour progressed, with the brothers’ children reconnecting after years apart.
Noel has two teenage sons, Sonny and Donovan, with Sara, as well as daughter Anais from his marriage to Meg Mathews. Liam’s children Lennon, Gene and Molly all joined the tour, while his daughter Gemma lives in New York.
“My kids met his kids. They didn’t know each other they have never met they are all best friends now,” Noel said.
Liam added: “They are loving it – f***ing spangled every night.”
Noel had initially doubted whether agreeing to the tour would lead to a genuine reconciliation, admitting that forgiveness does not come naturally to him.
“I was born with one fatal flaw in my character: I will not forgive people. That is something I was born with. I haven’t got any forgiveness in me at all.”
He also accepted that Liam was unlikely to change or take the first step towards repairing their relationship.
“He’s a man who truly does not give a f***. He is who he is and that’s the way of that. He’s not going to change. He’s not going to come to us, we have to go to him.”
Later scenes show the brothers being interviewed together, with Noel laughing at Liam’s jokes and remarking: “I forgot how funny he was.”
Documentary Captures Tour’s Turning Point
Lovelace said the unease between the brothers only began to lift when Oasis finally walked onstage and faced fans who had waited 16 years for their return.
“There was definite tension and, from our perspective as observers, that didn’t dissipate until that first moment when the expectant energy of the crowds met the nervousness of the band.
“That was a real moment of alchemy. It was like something incredibly special happens when these people who’ve been waiting 16 years for this momentous thing to happen got it.”
“Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger” will open in cinemas and on IMAX screens on September 9. Its directors said they hoped the film would give fans who were unable to secure or afford concert tickets the closest possible experience to attending the reunion tour.
The final edit also reflects the brothers’ famously colourful language, containing a total of 179 uses of the f-word.
