Although the guidelines I posted here ask people not to post to criticize artists others like, this Oasis reunion tour

[highplainsdem]

13. All of us are entitled to "meh" opinions of artists others love. But I want to add something to

Last edited Sun Aug 31, 2025, 05:14 PM - Edit history (1)

what you said here:

The brothers hated each other passionately until somebody waved a big enough check…

I might have said that was possible at one point, but I've listened to lots of interviews from more than 30 years, and read a lot more about them since the tour started, and my impression - which of course you're free to disagree with - is that it's classic sibling rivalry, often love/hate, exacerbated by the trauma of having an abusive alcoholic father. Further exacerbated by the strain of being in a band and touring a lot from the early 1990s through 2009. If I recall correctly, one of the Moody Blues (think it was John Lodge, but I'm not sure) once said that by the end of a tour, the Moodies wouldn't be speaking to one another. I've posted a lot here about Golden Earring, who stayed together for several decades, but there were times they were barely speaking, even times when the lead and bass guitarists - founding members who were childhood friends and brothers-in-law - would communicate backstage only through intermediaries.

And that strain in Oasis was further exacerbated by Noel and Liam envying each other. Which both have commented on. Noel particularly.

And it probably looks worse to Americans because of the English tradition of "taking the piss" - insulting people without meaning real offense, basically doing it for laughs. A friend of mine who worked in England for years had a very hard time getting used to it.

I have two kid brothers who have at times left me so sick of their sibling rivalry that it was one reason I really didn't even want to hear about Oasis in the '90s. But even when my brothers are not talking to each other for a while, I know that in a pinch they'll be there for each other.

I've seen a lot of interviews where Noel and Liam were both clearly affectionate, enjoying each other's company, and admiring each other's talent.

The split in 2009 came at a time when Oasis wasn't doing as well, and Noel had been wondering for years about possibly going solo. And once he made a public statement blaming Liam for his decision to leave the band, he'd pretty much painted himself into a corner. As Liam did with his response.

But they knew their talents were/are complementary.

I believe they'd have reunited much sooner if this was purely about money.

I've read that both their kids (who get along) and their mother had a lot to do with the reunion. So did Liam's fiancee/manager, who gets along with the kids and Liam and Noel's mother. So did Noel divorcing his second wife, who disliked Liam and took Noel for every penny she could get.

So did both Noel and Liam - Liam especially - maturing.

And so did Liam becoming successful enough in his solo career to sell out concerts at Knebworth. Which has to have made Noel aware that his kid brother might not be such a liability after all.

Liam had been saying for years that he wanted a reunion, and wouldn't care what it paid. Noel had said repeatedly the last year or so before the reunion was announced that Liam should call him. We might never know exactly when and why they reconciled, but saying they hated each other and got back together just for the money seems, to me anyway, to be wrong.

Family relationships are complicated. Same with bands.