Liam Gallagher

At 52 years old, Liam Gallagher has this physical status:

When school friend Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan invited Gallagher to join his band The Rain as a vocalist, he agreed. He was the band's co-songwriter, along with guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs. Noel has since openly mocked this writing partnership, describing them as being "just awful", and Liam also admitted that they were "shit". The band only rehearsed once a week and did not get many gigs. It was at one of their rare shows in 1991 at the Boardwalk in Manchester that Noel, having recently returned from touring internationally as a roadie for Inspiral Carpets, saw them perform. In 1993, Oasis played a four-song set at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow, where Alan McGee of Creation Records discovered them and signed them for a six-album deal. The band's debut album Definitely Maybe was released on 28 August 1994, and went on to become the fastest-selling British debut album of all time. Liam was praised for his vocal contributions to the album, and his presence made Oasis a popular live act. Critics cited influences from the Beatles and Sex Pistols. Liam's attitude garnered attention from the British tabloid press, which often ran stories concerning his alleged drug use and behaviour. In 1997, Definitely Maybe was named the 14th greatest album of all time in a "Music of the Millennium" poll conducted by HMV. In Channel 4's "100 Greatest Albums" countdown in 2005, the album was placed at No. 6. In 2006, NME placed the album at No. 3 in a list of the greatest British albums ever. In the 2006 book of British Hit Singles and Albums, the album was voted the best album of all time, with the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band finishing second. Q placed it at No. 5 on their greatest albums of all-time list in 2006, and NME hailed it as the greatest album of all time that same year.

The band's second album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? was even more successful, becoming the third-best selling album in British history. Around this time, Oasis became embroiled in a well documented media-fuelled feud with fellow Britpop band Blur. The differing styles of the bands now leading the Britpop movement—Oasis a working-class northern band, and Blur a middle-class southern band—made the media perceive them as natural rivals. In August 1995, Blur and Oasis released new singles on the same day; Blur's "Country House" outsold Oasis' "Roll with It" by 58,000 copies during the week. When the band mimed the single on Top of the Pops, Liam pretended to play Noel's guitar and Noel pretended to sing, taking a jibe at the show's lip-syncing format. (What's the Story) Morning Glory? is considered to be a seminal record of the Britpop era and as one of the best albums of the 1990s, and appears in several charts as one of the greatest albums of all time. In 2010, Rolling Stone commented that "the album is a triumph, full of bluster, bravado, and surprising tenderness" and that it "capped a true golden age for Britpop". The magazine ranked the album at No. 378 on its 2012 list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". The album's enduring popularity within the UK was reflected when it won the BRITs Album of 30 Years at the 2010 BRIT Awards. The award was voted on by the public to decide the greatest Best Album winner in the history of the BRIT Awards. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Oasis's eagerly anticipated third album, Be Here Now, was released on 21 August 1997 and set a new record as the fastest-selling album in UK Chart history. The album was denounced by Noel in later years, but Liam has defended it. On the first day of release, Be Here Now sold over 424,000 copies and became the fastest-selling album in British chart history; initial reviews were overwhelmingly positive. The band's long-time producer Owen Morris said the recording sessions were marred by arguments and drug abuse, and that the band's only motivations were commercial. As of 2008, the album had sold eight million copies worldwide. It was the best-selling album of 1997 in the UK, with 1.47 million units sold. The album topped the UK Vinyl Albums Chart in 2016, 19 years after its original release. Creation Records shut down in 1999, after which the Gallagher brothers set up their own label, Big Brother Recordings, for all future Oasis releases. Future album and singles were marked with codes starting with "RKID" ("our kid", Northern English slang for a sibling or younger relative). Oasis returned in 2000 with the album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. Founding members Bonehead and Guigsy left during the recording, leaving Liam as the only member remaining from the band's pre-Oasis lineup. The album featured the band's first song written by Liam, "Little James", written for his then-wife Patsy Kensit's son James. This song, along with the album as a whole, received generally mixed reviews.

Oasis's next album, Heathen Chemistry, was released in 2002 and featured three more songs written by Liam. One of them was "Songbird", an acoustic ballad about his love for Nicole Appleton, whom he would later marry. The song was the fourth single from the album and reached No. 3 in the UK charts. Later that year, Gallagher broke several teeth and sustained injuries to his face after a fight broke out at a Munich bar. He and Oasis drummer Alan White were arrested but released without charge. Oasis had to pull out of the shows in Munich and Düsseldorf due to Liam's injuries. 2005 saw the release of Oasis's sixth studio album, Don't Believe the Truth, featuring a further three compositions by Liam: "Love Like a Bomb" (co-written with rhythm guitarist Gem Archer), "The Meaning of Soul", and "Guess God Thinks I'm Abel". The album won two Q Awards: a special People's Choice Award and Best Album. Gallagher joined the rest of Oasis to receive the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award at the BRIT Awards in 2007. As the band picked up the award, he commented on stage, "Seeing as we don't get nominated for this shit no more, this'll have to do." Around the same time, it was announced that he was in negotiations with the makers of Channel 4 afternoon quiz Countdown to appear as the weekly celebrity guest in "Dictionary Corner".

2008 saw the release of the band's final album Dig Out Your Soul, which featured three Liam-written songs: "I'm Outta Time", "Ain't Got Nothin'", and "Soldier On". Dig Out Your Soul went straight to No. 1 on the UK Album Charts and reached No. 5 in the U.S. 200 Billboard Charts. In the UK, the album sold 90,000 copies on its first day of release, making it the second-fastest selling album of 2008, behind Coldplay's Viva la Vida. It debuted on the UK Albums Chart at No. 1 with first-week sales of 200,866 copies, making it the 51st fastest selling album ever in the UK. The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S. with 53,000 copies sold. It is the highest chart position of any Oasis album in the U.S. since Be Here Now, which debuted at No. 2, but fewer total opening week sales than Don't Believe the Truth. It spent over 30 weeks in the French Albums Chart. Many critics lauded Dig Out Your Soul as one of the band's strongest albums, one opined that "it seems Oasis have made something that can happily play alongside Morning Glory". In August 2009, during the tour in support of the album, the band split up due to Noel not being able to work with Liam any more.

In November 2009, Gallagher announced that he and former Oasis band members had written new material as part of a new project, and could be gigging as early as a couple of months, and stated that "Oasis are done, this is something new". On 19 November 2009, he announced that he would be recording an album with Gem Archer, Andy Bell, and Chris Sharrock around Christmas time, with a possible release date in July 2010. He told MTV: "We've been demoing some songs that we've had for a bit. Just doing that, on the quiet, not making a big fuss about it. After Christmas we might go in the studio and record them and hopefully have an album out in July." He later said that the band would "do it in a different kind of way now. I'll try and reconnect with a new band, new songs, and I'm feeling confident about the songs." He was reported to have been "feeling a million percent confident that they could be better than Oasis".

In March 2010, Gallagher was voted the greatest frontman of all time in a reader poll by Q magazine. On 16 March 2010, he announced that his new band would be releasing their first single in October with an album to follow the next year. On 9 November 2010, Beady Eye released their first single "Bring the Light" as a free download. The next single from the album, "The Roller", was released in January 2011. The band's debut album Different Gear, Still Speeding was released on 28 February 2011. On the album the songwriting is credited as a collaborative work between Gallagher, Andy Bell, and Gem Archer. The BBC and The Independent both commented that the album bests Oasis' later music, if not lacking innovation from the previous group, while NME praised the album's simplicity and variety and cited "Bring the Light" as a surprising highlight. The album is generally agreed to have surpassed expectations, with Mojo remarking that the album "shaped up better than many imagined," and Q saying that it "decimates all negative preconceptions."

On 3 April 2011, Beady Eye headlined a Japan Tsunami Disaster relief concert at the Brixton Academy. Gallagher organised the star-studded event as a fundraiser for the devastating event that happened on 11 March 2011. The event raised over £150,000 for the British Red Cross, which was working in the earthquake and tsunami-hit country. Gallagher also announced that Beady Eye's version of the Beatles' "Across the Universe", which they performed on the night, would be released as a charity single, to benefit the fundraising.

In March 2012, Gallagher stated that Beady Eye would play Oasis songs. They did this for the first time when they supported the Stone Roses in June 2012. This prompted speculation as to whether an Oasis reunion was in the offing. In August 2012, Beady Eye performed "Wonderwall" at the London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony.

The band's second studio album BE was released on 12 June 2013. It was recorded with Dave Sitek between November 2012 and March 2013. The band embarked on a corresponding tour playing a "secret gig" at Glastonbury. In contrast to his headlining spot with Oasis, Beady Eye featured as one of the first bands to open the festival. Gallagher stated it was a "refreshing" change. BE was not as successful in the United States as Gallagher and the rest of the band had hoped. This hindered their American popularity and it was announced there would be no tour dates scheduled for the United States. BE received a mixed critical reception. Many positive reviews complimented the band's progression from their debut album, while negative reviews criticised the album's lyrics and production.

Simon Harper of Clash magazine said, "Shades of light and dark ripple throughout and keep the listener guessing... (On 'Soul Love') Liam Gallagher's cosmic vibe is matched by the first distinct stamp of producer David Sitek's ambient adventuring, which commandeers the second-half of the song, letting it drift dreamily skywards. This is what permeates BE, making it sonically enchanting." On 25 October 2014, Gallagher announced that Beady Eye had disbanded. His post on Twitter stated that the band were "no longer" and thanked fans for their support.

In a Twitter post on 4 January 2016, Gallagher balked at the idea of pursuing a solo career. However, in an interview with Q later that year, he announced that he would be releasing solo songs in 2017; he did not consider it a solo career, stating that he had a backlog of songs he had written over the years and wanted to release them. A solo appearance at Bergenfest in 2017 was announced in November 2016, with other festival appearances for summer 2017 later confirmed. After beginning to record his debut solo album in 2016, it was announced in March 2017 that the album was to be titled As You Were. His solo debut single "Wall of Glass" was released on 1 June, with an accompanying music video. In the same month, Gallagher performed his first solo concert at the Ritz in Manchester with all proceeds going to victims of the Manchester terror attack. He also revealed that he would launch his first solo tour of the United States and Canada to support the album's release.

On 4 June 2017, Gallagher made a surprise appearance at the One Love Manchester benefit concert, where he played "Rock 'N' Roll Star", "Wall of Glass", and "Live Forever" alongside Coldplay's Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland. He performed at the Rock am Ring festival and the Pinkpop Festival in June 2017. Since a dispute with his management in 2017, he has been represented by his Australian-born nephew Daniel Nicholas. Gallagher also performed at Glastonbury in June 2017. During the set, he sang "Don't Look Back in Anger" for the first time, dedicating his performance to the victims of the recent Manchester and London terror attacks and the Grenfell Tower fire. On 30 June 2017, he released his second solo single "Chinatown". In July, he performed at the Exit festival in Serbia and Benicassim festival in Spain. On 3 August, Gallagher performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago and left the stage in the middle of a song after performing for only 20 minutes. He later apologised on Twitter and said he had vocal problems. In August, Gallagher performed at Reading and Leeds Festival. In October, he performed the Beatles' song "Come Together" with Foo Fighters and Joe Perry at the CalJam festival in California.

On 6 October 2017, As You Were was released to positive reviews. The album proved to be a successful comeback for Gallagher, debuting at No. 1 in the UK with first-week sales of 103,000. In doing so, it outsold the rest of the top 10 of the UK Albums Chart combined, as well as achieving higher first-week sales than both Beady Eye albums combined. It also achieved the highest single-week vinyl sales in 20 years, with 16,000 copies sold. On 23 October, Gallagher announced that he would be doing a one-off concert in Finsbury Park on 29 June 2018. The gig sold out within minutes of tickets being announced. Subsequently, it was announced that there would be a concert at Emirates Lancashire Cricket Club in Manchester on 18 August 2018. It was also confirmed that Gallagher would be a headline act at the TRNSMT Festival in Glasgow Green on 30 June 2018, and that he would be a headline act at the 2018 Isle of Wight Festival alongside Depeche Mode, the Killers, and Kasabian.

In February 2018, Gallagher performed "Live Forever" at the Brit Awards as a tribute to the victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack, after Ariana Grande (whose show was the target of the attack) could not perform due to illness. In April, it was confirmed that he would support the Rolling Stones at The London Stadium on 22 May. Later that month, he confirmed that he had started work on his second solo album with Greg Kurstin and Andrew Wyatt. On 29 May 2019, Gallagher revealed that the album would be called Why Me? Why Not. On 7 June, "Shockwave" was released as the album's lead single. The same day, a documentary was released called As It Was, which chronicled Gallagher's return to music. On 27 June, Gallagher released another single titled "The River". On 26 July, he released a third single from the album, "Once", followed by a fourth single, "One of Us", on 15 August.

Gallagher played an acoustic set for MTV Unplugged in Hull City Hall on 3 August, showcasing his solo songs. "Once" debuted live and new songs "One of Us", "Now That I've Found You" (which was inspired by Gallagher's reunion with his daughter Molly), "Gone", and "Why Me? Why Not." were played publicly for the first time. Gallagher also performed several Oasis songs, including "Stand by Me" for the first time since 2001, and "Sad Song" which he had never performed live before. For the Oasis songs, Gallagher was joined on stage by former Oasis guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs. The special aired on 27 September, several hours after Why Me? Why Not. debuted at number one in the UK.

Why Me? Why Not. received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Many positive reviews complimented the album for expanding on the sound of As You Were, with Gallagher's vocals also being singled out for praise. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received a weighted average score of 74 based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In November, he received the first Rock Icon award at the MTV Europe Music Awards. That same month, he announced that he would perform at Manchester's Heaton Park on 12 June 2020 and TRNSMT Festival on 11 July 2020.

On 31 January 2020, Gallagher surprise released a live EP entitled Acoustic Sessions, which contained 7 live acoustic performances of both his solo and Oasis songs, as well as the original demo version of "Once". On 27 March, he announced that the Heaton Park show was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the pandemic, he announced that he would perform a free show for NHS staff at The O2 Arena on 29 October 2020, which was ultimately postponed to 17 August 2021. After the first worldwide COVID-19 lockdown began in March 2020, Gallagher posted several humorous video clips to Twitter of him singing various Oasis hits with reworked lyrics to advise his fans to wash their hands. Later that year, Gallagher released his MTV Unplugged performance as his first live album, MTV Unplugged (Live At Hull City Hall), containing 10 of the 17 songs played. It was released on 12 June 2020 and debuted at number one on the UK charts upon its release, becoming Gallagher's third UK no.1 album as a solo artist.

On 27 November 2020, Gallagher released a stand-alone single titled "All You're Dreaming Of". The proceeds from the song go to Action for Children. Peaking at #24, it became his fourth solo single to reach the UK top 40, while also becoming the UK's highest selling vinyl single of 2020.

In October 2021, Gallagher collaborated with Richard Ashcroft on a reworked version of "C'mon People (We're Making It Now)" for Ashcroft's album Acoustic Hymns Vol. 1.

On 1 October 2021, Gallagher announced that he would be releasing a third solo album, titled C'mon You Know, on 27 May 2022. Gallagher performed at Knebworth Park on 3 and 4 June 2022, nearly 26 years after he performed there with Oasis. On 11 October, Gallagher announced that he would also perform at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on 1 June and Hampden Park in Glasgow on 26 June 2022.

On 20 January 2022, Gallagher announced that the first single to be released from C'mon You Know would be "Everything's Electric" co-written by Dave Grohl—who also provided drums—and Greg Kurstin. The track was released on 4 February 2022. Gallagher performed "Everything's Electric" at the 42nd Brit Awards on 8 February 2022. It debuted at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart Top 100, making it Gallagher's highest charting solo single to date. It debuted at number 1 on the UK Singles Sales Chart. The album's title track was released on 1 April. The album's third single "Better Days" was released 22 April with the song's proceeds going to War Child. The album's fourth single "Diamond In The Dark" was released on 26 May.

On 17 March, Gallagher announced that he would be releasing his Down By The River Thames performance as his second solo live album. It was released on 27 May 2022, the same day as C'mon You Know. On 3 and 4 June, Gallagher performed at Knebworth Festival in Hertfordshire. The concerts were performed on two consecutive nights which coincided with C'mon You Know becoming a number-one album in the UK national charts.

On 29 July, Gallagher released his second EP, Diamond In The Dark, which features a cover of "Bless You", originally recorded by John Lennon.

On 10 October 2022, Gallagher released a fifth single from the album titled "Too Good For Giving Up" in partnership with mental health organisation Talk Club UK.

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