Noel Gallagher has laid bare the violent truth behind the infamous Oasis versus Blur Britpop feud.
The ex-Oasis songwriter says he begged Damon Albarn to end their war over his fears Blur fans would be glassed by Oasis disciples.
But Noel lost all respect for Damon, 52, and his management when they refused to end the feud after warning them it could end up with gig-goers suffering life-threatening injuries.
The 53-year-old said he called Blur’s management at the peak of their 1995 singles battle and issued a plea for them to stop booking shows at venues opposite those being played by Oasis.
He also claimed Blur projected huge displays of the message Number One at venues where Oasis were playing to taunt them over losing the top chart spot to Blur’s Country House.
Noel said: “We had no problem with Blur right until they started moving singles back and forward and then booking gigs in the same towns as us when we were on tour.
“They had this big stupid projection of Number One. They were going to project it on the pub across the road, we were playing some gym or something.
“So we phoned their management and said, ‘We’re going to pull this gig, because if one of your fans gets his head smashed in by a bottle by one of our fans then, you know…’, and they started this war.
“So, we’d pull the gig and they said they’d do the same and put out a joint statement.
“But they never pulled their gig ad and basically gloating, so we thought, ‘Alright, we’ll see who ends up in hospital first with a nervous breakdown you f * g ponce’, and that’s been it.
“I’ve sort of lost respect for them. And people say, ‘It’s all in the past, leave it alone’, and I don’t know – no, I haven’t finished with him yet.”
Noel lifted the lid on the infamous Oasis v Blur rivalry in deleted scenes from a Britpop documentary that have been unearthed by fans marking this year’s 25th anniversary release of Oasis’ second album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?
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The bands went to war the same year the record was released as Blur moved the release date of their single Country House to the same day Oasis issued Roll With It, prompting a chart battle billed as the biggest music fight since The Beatles versus Rolling Stones.
It saw Liam spit furious insults about Damon and Blur’s guitarist Graham Coxon, who was plunged into such depression over the rivalry he tried to throw himself out of a window of a London’s members’ club.
Noel also made some strong comments about the group, saying publicly he hoped Blur bass player Alex James and singer Damon Albarn would catch AIDS and die.
He eventually backtracked on the shocking remarks and performed onstage with Albarn and Blur guitarist Graham Coxon in 2013.
Liam and Noel were certainly as bad as each other, as the former couldn’t resist taking a dig at Blur when Oasis won the award for Best Music Video for Wonderwall at the 1996 Brit Awards.
He said on stage: “I’d like to thank all the fans, all the people who make us what we are.
“All the people, so many people/And they all walk hand in hand, hand in hand through their s***e life.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk