Biography All Music Guide Wikipedia
All Music Guide:
In the mid-'90s, Noel Gallagher received much press -- most of it negative -- for his candid admiration of his own songwriting abilities. However, Gallagher's braggadocio can be viewed as having merit considering the worldwide success and critical acclaim of his band, Oasis. Gallagher was born on May 29, 1967, in Longsight, Manchester, England. At the age of 13, Gallagher began teaching himself how to play guitar, imitating the riffs of his favorite songs. While working for a building company, a weighty cap from a steel gas pipe landed on Gallagher's right foot, crushing it. The accident forced Gallagher into the less strenuous job of working in a storehouse; it also gave him more time for guitar practice and writing songs. In 1988, Gallagher auditioned to be a member of Inspiral Carpets. Although he was turned down, Inspiral Carpets hired him as a roadie. In the early '90s, Gallagher joined Oasis with his brother, Liam Gallagher (vocals), Paul McGuigan (bass), Tony McCarroll (drums), and Paul Arthurs (guitar). Often inundated with comparisons to the Beatles, Oasis launched another British Invasion in the mid-'90s, as well as resuscitating back-to-basics rock & roll in England. On Aug. 23, 1996, Noel Gallagher sang lead vocals on Oasis' performance for MTV's Unplugged after his sibling complained of a sore throat. Later that year, he appeared on the Chemical Brothers' "Setting Sun" single.
Wikipedia:
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds are an English rock band formed in 2010 as the solo moniker of former Oasis lead guitarist/songwriter Noel Gallagher. The band originates from Manchester and includes former Oasis session pianist Mike Rowe, drummer Jeremy Stacey of The Lemon Trees, The Zutons bassist Russell Pritchard and guitarist Tim Smith. The band also varies guests on their debut album such as the Crouch End Festival Chorus and The Wired Strings.
Since his split from Oasis in August 2009 many speculated that Gallagher might record a solo album. In July 2011, he held a press conference to confirm that this was the case, after denying rumours from his brother Liam Gallagher that he had already heard the tracks featured on it. He also explained that he would be collaborating with Amorphous Androgynous for a second album that is due for release in 2012.
The singles for Gallagher's debut album are "The Death of You and Me", "If I Had a Gun...", "AKA... What a Life!" and ""Dream On"". AKA... What a Life! made its debut on a Vauxhall television advertisement.
Gallagher announced that he will begin touring a week after the album is released. He stated, "We're going to go out on tour a week after the album is out. We're going to start off slow in small theatres. If it's good enough to get bigger than that then it'll get bigger than that. I don't think there'll be a huge great big tour this year. I think this year it'll be a quick whizz around the world and try and do the major cities and then it will probably be a bigger tour next year."
Gallagher explained in an interview with Jonathan Ross on The Jonathan Ross Show that the inspiration for the band's name was from two sources. The idea to prefix the name with "Noel Gallagher's" was formed whilst washing up dishes listening to the album Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, while the latter part of the name is taken from the song "High Flying Bird" by Jefferson Airplane.
History
Break-up of Oasis (2009–2010)
Since the release of Oasis' Dig Out Your Soul, speculation had been rife that Noel Gallagher intended to go solo; however on 12 July 2009, it was announced through the Oasis publicist that this was not true.
Things changed less than two months later, though, following a fight between the Gallaghers in a backstage area which reportedly resulted in Liam breaking Noel's guitar and then storming off. On 28 August 2009 Oasis' manager announced the cancellation of their concert at the Rock en Seine festival near Paris just minutes before it was about to begin, along with the cancellation of the European tour and a statement that Oasis "does not exist anymore".
Two hours later, a statement from Noel appeared on the band's website writing that "with some sadness and great relief...I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer"
High Flying Birds & Amorphous Androgynous Sessions (2011–present)
His solo career plans began in earnest after the demise of Oasis, on 6 July 2011, Noel held a press conference in London during which he announced that Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds would release a self-titled album on 17 October 2011, and a second collaboration with Amorphous Androgynous would be released in 2012. In July 2011, he released his debut single "The Death of You and Me", to positive reviews.
Following the success of "The Death of You and Me", Noel confirmed on his website that the band's next UK single would be "AKA... What a Life!" which was released on 11 September 2011. "If I Had a Gun...", Noel's first US single, was made available on the Apple Store on 20 September 2011.
Gallagher's second album is a collaboration with Amorphous Androgynous, due in late 2012. He said, "It sounds a bit like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. The sound is similar to High Flying Birds, but more psychedelic and tripped out. It's not an electronic project. People are jumping to that conclusion because Amorphous Androgynous used to be an electronic outfit."
In the press conference, explaining solo album material and collaboration talk, Noel admitted the collaboration is "fucking far out. It's got like 18 tracks on it, some of it's krautrock, some of it's soul, some of it's funk and that's just the first song.". Then later confessing, that he's nervous about releasing his second solo album with Amorphous Androgynous. "A lot of people are looking forward to it, which I'm a bit nervous about. They're building it up in their own minds, thinking it's going to be something it might not be when they hear it. It's fucking good, but I probably shouldn't have announced it. But I just thought, 'It's finished, so fuck it, here's what I've been working on.'" He later found it hard to say "no comment" to journalists, adding, "I'm just cursed with an absolute endless stream of one-liners. I'm sorry about that. People say it's the way I talk in interviews that makes people interested. But they just mean I'm honest. 'Oh, he's got a way with honesty, that lad…' How depressing is that?"
On 16 March 2012, Noel announced that his next EP titled Songs from the Great White North would be released exclusively for Record Shop Day on 21 April 2012. The EP is made up of the recent B-sides and includes his recent collaboration with Amorphous Androgynous "Shoot a Hole Into the Sun" as well as previous tracks "The Good Rebel", "Let the Lord Shine a Light on Me" and "I'd Pick You Everytime".
For much of 6 May 2012 and 7 May 2012, "If I Had a Gun" was the #1 Trending Topic worldwide on Twitter. The Trending Topic originated in Buenos Aires, Argentina during Noel Gallagher's concert there on the night of 6 May 2012.
