Why Oasis’ Liam Gallagher Could Never Be A Chris Martin

Even though many British bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones have been greatly embraced in the United States, Oasis couldn’t be as popular there as they did in other countries. While it is hard to know the exact reasons for that, the timing could be one of them. When Oasis rose to fame in the UK during the mid-1990s, the US was experiencing a surge in grunge bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. So, it is possible that the American audience was not as receptive to Oasis’ music at the time.

Besides that, cultural differences could be one of the other possible reasons. As Oasis’ music and lyrics often reflect working-class British culture, those references may not have resonated as strongly with the American audience. Oasis also had a reputation for being confrontational and difficult in interviews, which may have turned off the American press at the time. While the media was interested in their internal fights, they hated the band when the band members didn’t care about large American publications.

Putting aside all these possible reasons, Oasis’ Noel Gallagher brought forward one more thing during a 2005 interview with Billboard. The musician was initially asked whether he thought their internal problems and canceled tours had negatively affected their reputation in the United States. Gallagher said that he actually cared about the American audience, but they were not the kind of artists who couldn’t give the necessary attention there.

Then, Gallagher asserted that bands like U2, R.E.M., and Coldplay were popular in the US because of their frontmen. According to Noel, his brother Liam was not Chris Martin, Bono, or Michael Stipe. Liam’s attitude was just different than all of them, which the American audience didn’t fully get. Noel explained that they were musically as competent as those other bands he mentioned, but they had a distinct character and style.

Noel Gallagher’s views on their reputation in the United States:

“I’ve never had a blatant disregard for it in the first place. It’s just that America is a really delicate flower that needs a lot of attention, and we’re not those kind of people. The reason U2 and R.E.M., and Coldplay are the biggest white rock bands in America is because of their frontmen. Not being negative toward Liam; he’s just not Chris Martin, he’s not Bono, and he’s not Michael Stipe. He’s Liam. For all intents and purposes, Americans don’t get Liams. I think we’re musically as strong as those three bands put together, but as characters, we’re different.”

Liam Gallagher and Chris Martin actually had a feud in the past, which started when Liam made some insulting remarks about the Coldplay frontman. He said back in 2006 that Martin looked like a ‘geography teacher‘ and extended his criticisms also to the rest of the band. Yet, the pair made it up when they performed Oasis hit ‘Live Forever’ at the One Love Manchester benefit concert for the victims and families of the terrorist attack at Ariana Grande’s 2017 concert in the city. They even shared a hug on the stage.

So, it is certain Martin and Gallagher have different styles of fronting and connecting with the audience, as Noel also pointed out in his interview. According to Noel, it was one of the reasons why Oasis couldn’t be popular as Coldplay or other bands like R.E.M. and U2 in the United States. The musician believed that Americans just didn’t get their way of connecting and performing.