Liam Gallagher

Liam Gallagher first rose to prominence with his brash demeanor and commanding vocal presence as Oasis frontman, later pursuing independent projects and partnerships once the group disbanded. Initially focused solely on singing, he began writing original material for the band, starting with the 2003 release “Songbird.” The 2009 split between the brothers prompted Liam to form Beady Eye with the remaining Oasis members. Following that ensemble’s conclusion, he issued his debut solo effort As You Were in 2017, which topped the U.K. charts. He sustained that commercial peak with the 2019 album Why Me? Why Not., its companion 2020 MTV Unplugged recording, and the 2022 set C’Mon You Know, each featuring input from Greg Kurstin, Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig, and Dave Grohl. In 2024 he paired with Stone Roses guitarist John Squire for a joint album that revisited the sonic terrain both had shaped years earlier.

Born in Burnage, Manchester, in 1972 to Irish parents Thomas and Peggy Gallagher, Liam was the youngest of three brothers that also included Noel and Paul. After enduring mistreatment from their father, Liam and Noel experienced unsettled adolescent years. Though music held scant appeal for him at first, by his late teens Liam had immersed himself in the Beatles, the Who, the Stone Roses, and the Kinks, while cultivating a lasting reverence for John Lennon that later led him to name his son after the late Beatle.

He entered Paul McGuigan’s school band the Rain as lead vocalist alongside guitarist Paul Arthurs. At the same time, Noel had been working as a roadie for Inspiral Carpets during their U.S. tours; upon returning, he steered his brother’s group toward greater prospects. With Noel installed as primary guitarist and songwriter, the renamed Oasis secured a recording contract and delivered their first album, Definitely Maybe, in 1994, which became Britain’s fastest-selling debut at the time. As the band’s profile surged, so did Liam’s, with tabloid coverage fixating on his drug use and frequent clashes with his brother. Just twelve months later the group followed with (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, surpassing the debut’s commercial reach. That year also saw Oasis pitted against Blur in a same-day single release; Blur’s “Country House” claimed the top spot while Oasis’ “Roll with It” settled for second, intensifying the media-framed rivalry between the working-class northerners and their middle-class southern counterparts.

Liam’s individual exploits continued to draw press attention, including an assault charge during an Australian tour. Oasis’ fourth album, 2000’s Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, marked his songwriting debut with “Little James,” written for his then-wife Patsy Kensit’s son from her marriage to Simple Minds’ Jim Kerr. Over the band’s remaining three records—2002’s Heathen Chemistry, 2005’s Don’t Believe the Truth, and 2008’s Dig Out Your Soul—he contributed additional tracks such as “Songbird” and “I’m Outta Time.” External incidents persisted, among them a 2002 Munich bar altercation that cost him several teeth. Tensions between the brothers culminated in 2009 when Noel departed the group.

The next year Liam revealed Beady Eye, assembled from former Oasis personnel, while also founding the clothing line Pretty Green—named after a Jam song and centered on his signature parkas and desert boots—which opened its flagship store on London’s Carnaby Street in 2010. Beady Eye’s first album, Different Gear, Still Speeding, appeared in 2011; the band headlined a Japan tsunami benefit at Brixton Academy and supported the Stone Roses in 2012. Their second release, BE, followed in 2013, yet by 2014 Liam announced via Twitter that the project had ended.

Although he had earlier rejected the notion of a solo career on the same platform, he reversed course in 2016 and confirmed plans for a solo album. The lead single “Wall of Glass” emerged in May 2017. After the Manchester arena bombing at an Ariana Grande concert, he organized a benefit at Old Trafford Cricket Ground where he joined Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland of Coldplay for performances of the Oasis songs “Live Forever” and “Rock ’n’ Roll Star.” An extensive promotional push preceded the October arrival of As You Were, which debuted at number one in the U.K. and reached the Billboard 200’s top thirty. In June 2019 “Shockwave” introduced the follow-up Why Me? Why Not., issued that September; the album also yielded “Once,” “One of Us,” and “Now That I’ve Found You,” and an MTV Unplugged set recorded during its tour appeared in June 2020. That November he released the standalone single “All You’re Dreaming Of,” a Lennon-inspired piano ballad whose U.K. vinyl sales led the year, with proceeds directed to Action for Children.

Gallagher maintained a low profile through much of 2021 until October, when he duetted with Richard Ashcroft on a reworking of the former Verve singer’s “C’mon People (We’re Making it Now).” February 2022 brought “Everything’s Electric,” co-written with Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin, with Grohl on drums; the track climbed to the U.K. top twenty, marking Gallagher’s highest-charting solo single. It previewed his third studio album C’mon You Know, released alongside the live recording Down by the River Thames, captured on a London barge in December 2020. Contributions from Ariel Rechtshaid and Andrew Wyatt joined Koenig’s on the album, which again topped the British charts.

March 2024 saw the release of Liam Gallagher & John Squire, preceded by the single “Just Another Rainbow,” which reached number sixteen—Gallagher’s best solo chart placement. The record merged the classic pop sensibilities of two Manchester rock figures. He also marked the thirtieth anniversary of Definitely Maybe with several 2024 concerts.