Noel Gallagher says social media has scuppered the chances of an Oasis reunion.
The Britpop band’s former guitarist says he will "never walk on stage" again with his brother and now bitter rival Liam Gallagher, because of the amount of grief he and his family has received online.
The ‘Fort Knox’ singer says Liam’s recent Twitter jibes, which saw him brand his sibling a "stalker potato", blast him for supporting U2 and criticise his response to the terrorist attack that took place outside the Manchester Arena in the pair’s hometown in May – following his no-show at the One Love Manchester benefit concert held in June – have "legitimised" his decision not to reform the group.
The 50-year-old rocker says he has a "distaste" for apps like Twitter and Instagram in general because his wife Sara MacDonald and his children – 17-year-old daughter Anais, whom he has with ex-wife Meg Matthews, and sons Sonny, seven, and 10-year-old Donovan with Sara – are constantly subjected to "not very nice" comments about the ‘Some Might Say’ band.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Front Row: "I think probably the nation as a whole, particularly the media, would love for me to get a Twitter account.
"[I find social media] exhausting – it shines a light on things that I find quite distasteful.
"My wife is on social media and my kids are on social media and people come after them on social media and it’s not very nice. It is ugly.
"My wife has shown me things that people have written about her and it’s disgraceful. My daughter has shown me things people have written about her in regards to Oasis. That’s disgraceful.
"It only heightens my resolve that I’ll never walk the stage with that band again. [used to not want to reform the band for] professional reasons, but now it’s personal.
"People are coming after my family, and one particular person [Liam] has legitimised it.
"And for that reason you’ve seen the last of Oasis."
And it seems Liam, 45 – who released his number one solo LP ‘As You Were’ last month – won’t be backing down on his insults anytime soon.
He said previously: "I’ve still got the hump. I certainly don’t want to settle down and become like some f***ing people who think they’ve got their s**t all sorted. There’s a lot of graft to do. You just don’t want to turn into a lot of these other people who are out there, ie our kid, who just seem very smug in their f***ing little lives.
"What’s there to let go? I just like having a pop at him.’ I don’t want to let him go, I’ve got him right on the ropes … Noel would love it if I just shut up shop and gave him an easy life to go and do his thing. It’s not happening … For the record, I don’t hate him … He’d love it if I just shut up shop, and didn’t say anything, and gave him an easy life to go and do his thing. It’s not happening. He’s had four years of [peace] now. And now I’m back doing what I do, I’m going to make it very f***ing hard for him to get back in the ring, man."
Oasis ended in August 2009 when Noel and Liam had a furious bust-up backstage before a headline festival in Paris, which ended with the younger Gallagher swinging a guitar at his family member’s head.
Noel Gallagher: I’ll never walk on stage with Oasis again
