Brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher have remained very busy since Oasis‘ last concert in 2009.
The breakup was inevitable yet unexpected. Oasis was in the midst of European tour dates when Noel reportedly reached his boiling point and stormed out of the group. A scheduled concert in Paris on Aug. 28 wouldn’t happen, leaving a performance at the V Festival six days earlier as the band’s last gig.
Though Liam and Noel have spent plenty of time since then bad mouthing each other in the press, both rockers have also released an extensive amount of material. And while American music fans may think the musicians’ popularity has faded, that couldn’t be further from the truth – at least, not in the U.K. Both Gallaghers remain a massive draw in their homeland and around Europe, enjoying sold out concerts, No. 1 albums and multi-platinum sales.
Here’s a look at what Liam and Noel have done in the years since Oasis’ demise.
Liam Gallagher Opens His Beady Eye
Liam was the first Gallagher to announce his post-Oasis plans, revealing three months later that he’d started a new group called Beady Eye. Gem Archer (guitar), Andy Bell (guitar) and Chris Sharrock (drums) who had all previously been in Oasis joined Liam in the initial lineup.
“We’ll 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,” Liam declared prior to recording the band’s first album. “I’m feeling a million percent confident that they could be better than Oasis.”
Watch Beady Eye’s Video for ‘The Roller’
While Beady Eye didn’t match Oasis’ commercial heights, it certainly had its share of success. The band’s critically-hailed debut album Different Gear, Still Speeding, was released in February 2011. Roughly 18 months later, Beady Eye performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, playing the Oasis classic “Wonderwall.”
The band’s second studio album, BE, came out in June 2013. The LP was less enthusiastically received, especially in America. Liam scrapped plans for Beady Eye to tour the U.S. and in October 2014 he announced the group had disbanded.
Liam Gallagher Finds Solo Success
The singer’s next move was unexpected, considering he’d rejected the idea of a solo career for years. Still, that’s exactly what he embarked on in 2017. Liam’s debut solo single, “Wall of Glass” was released that June, and he quickly began performing a long run of solo gigs. He also became a vocal supporter of his hometown of Manchester, following a tragic terrorist attack that year. Liam appeared at several notable benefit events for the victims, including the One Love Manchester concert where he performed Oasis classics alongside members of Coldplay.
Liam’s debut solo album, As You Were, arrived in October 2017 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. The LP hit No. 1 on the U.K. chart and enjoyed larger commercial popularity than his previous efforts with Beady Eye. So began a streak of solo success for the singer, as his next two albums Why Me? Why Not (2019) and C’mon You Know (2022) also debuted at No. 1 in the U.K.
READ MORE: The Best Song From Every Oasis Album
In November 2019, Liam received the first Rock Icon award at the MTV Europe Music Awards. His acceptance speech was short – roughly 20 seconds in length – but he was sure to feature some of his trademark swagger. “I want to congratulate MTV for recognizing my brilliance,” the singer declared. “Thanks for the award, I’ll wear it well.”
In September 2022 Liam – who became close with Dave Grohl when the two co-wrote the song “Everything’s Electric” for Gallagher’s C’mon You Know LP – appeared at the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert in London. The singer was the event’s first performer, delivering the Oasis songs “Rock ’n’ Roll Star” and “Live Forever,” backed by the Foo Fighters.
Watch Liam Gallagher Perform ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ With Foo Fighters
In 2024, Liam collaborated with ex-Stone Roses guitarist John Squire on the appropriately-titled album Liam Gallagher & John Squire. The LP was released in March to critical acclaim and continued Liam’s streak of hitting No. 1 in the U.K.
Most recently, the singer spent much of 2024 celebrating the 30th anniversary of Oasis’ debut album, Definitely Maybe. Liam embarked on an expansive tour which saw him performing the album in its entirety, along with other Oasis classics.
Noel Gallagher Flies High After Oasis
Compared to his brother, Noel Gallagher was a bit slower in moving on from Oasis. He didn’t play his first post-break up gig until February 2010 an it wasn’t until July 2011 that he unveiled his new project, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. The name was a moniker for Noel’s solo work with a regular rotation of musicians, similar to how Paul McCartney created with Wings.
Debut album Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds was released in October 2011 to critical and commercial success. The LP reached triple-platinum status in the U.K., solidifying Noel’s place among the nation’s most revered rockers.
Watch Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ Video for ‘If I Had a Gun’
Like Liam, Noel’s popularity in the U.K has never waned. Three of his four albums – Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (2011), Chasing Yesterday (2015) and Who Built the Moon? (2017) – all debuted at No. 1 in the U.K., as did his greatest hits compilation Back the Way We Came: Vol. 1. Meanwhile, Noel’s most recent LP, 2023’s Council Skies, fell jus short of continuing the streak, debuting at No. 2.
Noel Gallagher’s Collaborations
Additionally, Noel has actively collaborated with other artists since Oasis broke up. In 2016, he co-wrote the song “Birth of an Accidental Hipster” with Paul Weller, a tune they gave to the Monkees for the group’s Good Times! album.
READ MORE: Underrated Oasis: The Most Overlooked Song From Each Album
In 2017, Noel joined forces with an unlikely partner: Damon Albarn. The two had been rivals in the ‘90s, with the press often pitting Oasis against Albarn’s band Blur in the battle for Britpop supremacy. Still, any lingering tensions have long since dissipated, as Noel’s contribution to the song “We Got the Power” for Albarn’s animated group Gorillaz proved.
Most recently, Noel co-wrote three songs for the Black Keys’ 2024 album Ohio Players. The Oasis rocker also played guitar and provided backing vocals on all three tracks: “Only Lover Matters,” “You’ll Pay” and “On the Game.”
Oasis Albums Ranked Worst to Best
The Manchester-born band only released seven albums — and they ended on rough terms — but there’s a subtle arc to their catalog that both draws from clear influences and stands entirely alone.
Gallery Credit: Allison Rapp