As Oasis prepare to go on a world tour, Robbie Williams will not be allowing Noel Gallagher to forget their long-standing rivalry.
According to the Mirror, the former Take That member said on an uncredited podcast: “As for the shows? They're gonna be incredible, off-the-scale special. Oasis getting back together is going to be a healing moment for our country.
“Liam Gallagher reading his phone on the toilet would be more charismatic and intriguing than 99.9 per cent of the world's population at their most enigmatic.
”All he has to do is stand there and sing for the audience to be guaranteed their money's worth.”
The singer then threw in a little dig: “Noel will be there too.”
Williams has had a lot of history with Oasis as, after quitting Take That in the middle of the 1990s, he briefly became close friends with the brothers.
However, the relationships turned sour very quickly.
But how did all start? Here’s a rundown of significant events that happened between Williams and Oasis.
Liam Gallagher & Robbie Williams, 1995 pic.twitter.com/mYhZ5Y7lse
— OasisCentral (@oasiscentral_) March 20, 2024
How it all started
Robbie Williams was fresh out of Take That in 1995 and was ready to change his image when he was taken under the arm of Liam Gallagher.
The pair were seen living it up at Glastonbury Festival, but the friendship did not last.
Williams reflected in 2013: “I happened to know them and knock about with them for a little while. I don't think I was their cup of tea.
"At the time I think the exact words were, 'I'm not mod', so I was sort of mates with them for a bit, then I didn't gel with them, so we stopped hanging out, simple as that."
The beef began
The feud started when Noel referred to Williams as the "fat dancer from Take That" at the 2000 Brit Awards.
Williams, who was unhappy with both the brothers, said in reply: “So, anybody like to see me fight Liam? Liam, a hundred grand of your money and a hundred grand of my money. We’ll get in a ring and we’ll have a fight and you can all watch it on TV, what d’you think about that?”
Knebworth Park
Williams soon took revenge, selling out Knebworth Park three nights in a row, following Oasis' historic two-night sellout in 1996.
Along with the tap dance shoes, Williams is claimed to have sent Noel a note that said, “Dear Mr N Gallagher, you said two nights at Knebworth is history. Well, I guess three is just greedy. Yours, Rob.”
“PS: Finding it difficult to find adequate support for my show. What are you doing on the 1st and 2nd? Oh, and the 3rd?”.
Nicole Appleton
Robbie’s ex-girlfriend All Saints singer Nicole Appleton and Liam started dating a year after their break-up in 2000.
Williams didn’t say anything but the prospect would hardly have been appealing.
Appleton and Liam ended up getting married in 2007 and have a son called Gene. However, in 2014, their marriage ended due to the revelation that he had an affair and had a child in secret with US journalist Liza Ghorbani.
The former All Saints singer tried to interview Williams backstage at the Brits in a 2010 video, which also features Melanie Blatt.
"I see you don't change your perfume," Williams remarks as he pulls her close and reminisces about the past, adding to the tense atmosphere.
Take That’s run at Wembley
Williams appeared at Wembley Stadium, using the occasion to boast about defeating Oasis's run at the stadium, and also had the successful Take That reunion to boast about.
While talking to fans, he says: "Noel Gallagher, you can kiss my perfectly formed backside.”
Beady Eye
In 2013, Liam went on a tirade against Williams, calling the singer a “fat fucking idiot”. Williams answered with a cool, haughty analysis of Liam's Beady Eye band.
According to Digital Spy, he told The Sun: “The production is really good. There are a couple of tunes that would have been fucking amazing if they had a chorus. Flick of the Finger, nearly a great tune. Start Anew, if that had a chorus – but there is no chorus.”
Oasis ‘were gigantic bullies’
Fast forward to 2022, after years of public digs, Williams decides to challenge Oasis publicly by calling them “bullies”.
While acknowledging that he was and still is a tremendous admirer of Oasis, Williams remarked in an interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe in November 2022 that "They were gigantic bullies too, to the whole industry, everybody in it – and I didn’t like that.
“A lot of that still remains inside me. They’re probably different people now but there’s a lot of me that’s like, ‘They’re f***ing bullies, them. I don’t like bullies’.”
Liam seemed to apologise in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
I agree with him on the vital ting not on the bully thing I’ve never bullied anyone in my life I’m a massive piss taker for sure and probably gone a little too far sometimes but if I’ve ever hurt anyone’s feelings I apologise
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) November 4, 2022
