Having been criticised by some for not appearing at the tribute concert to the victims of the Manchester Arena terrorist attack, Noel Gallagher has reopened the venue with a performance over the weekend, almost four months on from the bombing that claimed 22 lives.
Much of that criticism Noel received came directly from his brother Liam, who left a concert in Germany to fly directly to the show and perform alongside the likes of Coldplay and Ariana Grande at the fundraising event, then labelled the older Gallagher a “sad ****” for the perceived no-show.
Now, with Noel appearing at the venue to perform ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ – which became an anthem of hope in the weeks and months after the attack – Liam has lashed out once again, SPIN reports, deeming his brother’s emotional performance a “stunt”.
“NG broke down in tears c’mon seriously ain’t buying that he doesn’t give a fuck,” Liam posted to Twitter. “Don’t buy into his PR stunt he doesn’t give a fuck if the same thing had have gone off in Edinburgh he’d be up there like a shot ahem.”
A harsh assessment of Noel’s efforts, which Billboard reports saw him deliver a heartfelt speech to the assembled hometown crowd, recalling the moment a woman began the iconic ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ singalong at a vigil in the days following the bombing.
“If anyone doubts it — and some people do — that Manchester is the greatest city in England, I was sat at home watching Sky News, watching the minute’s silence after what happened here, and one girl broke the silence,” he told the audience. “I don’t know whether she’s here tonight, but I love you.”
“Every time you sing, we win. So sing like you’ve never sang before,”
Noel Gallagher performs ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ at the ‘We Are Manchester’ concert
When a fan on Twitter commented that Noel Gallagher “smashed” the performance, Liam once again interjected, adding “Course he did about a 6 months too late as you were.”
Considering Liam has been doing and saying just about anything he can of late to drum up some headlines around the release of his debut solo album, it’s a little bit hypocritical for him to be slandering Noel Gallagher for what by all accounts was a heartfelt tribute to his home city, albeit not as timely as his brother’s.
It’s also notable that, while Noel didn’t make it to the first tribute concert, he quietly donated all the proceeds from sales and streams of ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ in the weeks that followed to the We Love Manchester emergency fund, which has raised £18 million in donations so far. Additionally, all of the money raised by Noel and the other performers at the weekend’s event will go towards a memorial for the 22 victims lost in the blast – hardly a PR stunt.
Whatever the reason for the latest aggression between the brothers, we wouldn’t be expecting that long-rumoured Oasis reunion any time soon.
