Early years
Noel Gallagher was born in Longsight, Manchester, to Irish parents Peggy and Tommy Gallagher. He was the couple's second child; his older brother, Paul, was born in 1966. Soon after the birth of younger brother Liam in 1972, the Gallaghers moved to Ashburn Avenue in the Manchester suburb of Burnage.[1] Noel had an unhappy childhood. He and his brothers were often beaten by his alcoholic father,[2] and he was often reclusive—Liam described him as "the weirdo in the family". Due to their unease around their father, Noel and Paul both developed stammers.[1] As the oldest child, Paul was given a room to himself, and Noel was forced to share with Liam.[2]
Peggy Gallagher acquired a legal notice of separation from her husband in 1976. Six years later she finally left him, taking the three boys with her.[1] As teenagers the Gallagher brothers — especially Noel — were regular truants. When his mother took a job working in the school cafeteria, Noel ensured that he stopped by to visit her during lunch before skipping the rest of class.[3] At the age of thirteen, Noel received six months' probation for robbing a corner shop.[2] It was during this period of probation, with little else to do, that Noel first began to teach himself to play a guitar his father had left him, imitating his favourite songs from the radio. Noel was particularly inspired by the debut of The Smiths on Top of the Pops in 1983, performing their single "This Charming Man". He later reflected, "From that day on ... I wanted to be [Smiths guitarist] Johnny Marr."[4]
During his teenage years, the Gallagher brothers maintained contact with their father in order to secure jobs in construction. Working with their father was tempestuous; Noel said, "Because we were always arguing we'd still be working at nine o'clock every night".[3] Having left his father's building company, he took a job at another building firm sub-contracted to British Gas. There he sustained an injury when a heavy cap from a steel gas pipe landed on his right foot. Following a period of recuperation, Noel was offered a less physically demanding role in the company's storehouse, freeing up time in which to practise guitar and write songs. He claimed to have written at least three of the songs on Definitely Maybe in this storehouse (including "Live Forever" and "Columbia").[5] Much of the late 1980s found Noel unemployed and living in a bedsit, occupying his time with recreational drug use, songwriting and guitar playing.[6] His musical interests at the time revolved largely around British rock music, most notably The Beatles, whose influence is heavily reflected in his songwriting. Other influences were T.Rex, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Slade, The Kinks and The Small Faces.[7]
In May 1988, Noel met guitarist Graham Lambert of Inspiral Carpets during a Stone Roses show. The two struck up an acquaintanceship and Noel became a regular at Inspiral Carpets shows. When he heard singer Steve Holt was leaving the band, Noel auditioned to be the new vocalist.[8]road crew for two years. Singer Tom Hingley said that Gallagher owes his own career to the band, since "his business sense, work ethic, message and humour are Inspiral down to the core."[9] Noel struck up a friendship with monitor engineer Mark Coyle over their love of the Beatles, and the pair spent soundchecks dissecting the groups' songs.[10] He was rejected, but became part of their
