Noel Gallagher: The Biography

by Lucian Randall

A look at the musician who is as well-known for his singer-songwriting talent as he is for his controversial, outspoken statements and his tempestuous relationships With the renowned Britpop band Oasis at the forefront of the Britpop movement in the 1990s, Noel Gallagher was responsible for writing some of the big anthems of the period, including "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova." At their peak they were playing sold-out concerts to more than 200,000 people. But what is the truth about the boy from Manchester? How did his relationship with his father affect him? What caused the public and personal rivalry with fellow Britpop band Blur? Why has he always had such a turbulent relationship with his brother and the front man of Oasis, Liam? Is the band over for good this time? This book maps out Noel's story from the beginning, taking readers from his dysfunctional upbringing in Manchester to the man fans know now.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

274 pages, Hardcover

First published November 5, 2012

Reviews

[Steve Parcell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow what a disappointing book. Not so much a biography as a collection of stories from other sources, segments from interviews with Noel and pieces from other publications.

After reading Tony McCaroll's book on his rise and fall with Oasis and he being axed from the band, I was expecting insights in to the relationships in Oasis. However the author, in my view incorrectly, gives the impression that it was the Gallaghers versus the rest of the band members. Other source material indicates it was the rest of the band and Noel set apart or Liam, Tony and Bonehead versus Guiggsy and Noel and the band's management.

The is no real criticism of Noel either and it reads as a Fanboy's account of him. Even when he makes crass and stupid statements, Randall lauds him for this and describes it flippantly as part of his character. Noel's "Masterplan" and being called "Chief" on the tour described by Paolo Hewitt as divisive is evidence says Randall of the high esteem the rest of the band held Noel in. "Chief" appears to be a largely derogatory name in Hewitt's book used by the other band members to display Noel's aloofness.

I wanted an insightful biography of Noel Gallagher but this appears rather sycophantic and ultimately quite vacuous.

[Colin Lowndes · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of an edited highlights than a biography that does not dig deep enough into the subject for me. Enjoyable read though although I expect this is because I'm a massive Gallagher fan. I hope he pens his own autobiography one day as that will be some read!

[sofie stay · Rating 3 out of 5]

i enjoyed it, but i think i’d enjoy it more if it was actually noel telling it himself, not someone who had done their digging (quite well, in a certain way) and put together bits and pieces

[Jo ✨☾ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh -- nothing new here -- he seems to have taken his information from thrashy magazines...

[Penny Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good look at the history of Oasis -- but this is supposed to be about Noel Gallagher (the guy I've been in love with for years, by the way!)-- so much more should have been included. I hope Noel writes his autobiography -- or even better, Noel and Liam collaborate on a book together.

[Tonya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I didn't learn much I didn't know from just following his career.