Noel Gallagher Born: Oasis's Architect of Britpop

Noel Gallagher wrote the anthems that defined 1990s Britpop, turning Oasis from a Manchester pub band into the biggest-selling British group of the decade. Born on May 29, 1967, in Longsight, Manchester, to an Irish immigrant family, he grew up in the council estate of Burnage and endured an abusive childhood that he has discussed publicly. He taught himself guitar as a teenager, inspired by the Beatles, the Smiths, and the Stone Roses. He joined his younger brother Liam's band as guitarist and primary songwriter in 1991, and within three years Oasis had become the most talked-about band in Britain. "Definitely Maybe," released in 1994, became the fastest-selling debut album in British history at the time. "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?," released in 1995, sold over 22 million copies worldwide and produced "Wonderwall" and "Don't Look Back in Anger," two songs that became permanent fixtures in the British musical canon. The Gallagher brothers' combative public persona, marked by constant feuding, inflammatory press interviews, and a swaggering confidence that bordered on absurdity, made Oasis a cultural phenomenon whose impact extended well beyond music. Their rivalry with Blur, which peaked during the "Battle of Britpop" in August 1995 when both bands released singles on the same day, divided a generation of British music fans along class and geographical lines. Noel's songwriting was distinguished by its melodic accessibility and emotional directness, qualities he derived primarily from the Beatles and channeled through a wall of distorted guitars. The band's later albums were less commercially successful, and internal tensions culminated in a backstage fight in Paris in 2009 that ended the band. Noel has continued as a solo artist, releasing three albums as Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.