Book review: Gallagher - The Fall & Rise of Oasis

And it must be said that his rabid adoration for the lads makes him, perhaps, a little too close to his subjects: his breathless praise and sometimes wild overstatement make this book, especially in its early stages, a little tricky to get through, here and there.

Unusually, too, this isn’t exactly an autobiographical study of the siblings but, instead, mostly a chronicle of how they formed the band, conquered the UK in the mid-1990s, and then fell apart with thermonuclear nastiness. Indeed, the “growing up in Manchester” stuff doesn’t really kick in until about two-thirds through.

Opening with an odd but quick introduction by Andrew Loog Oldham (former manager of the Rolling Stones), this pretty much kicks off with the band’s split just before a show in 2009, and then investigates what happened thereafter in great detail. The solo projects; the romances, marriages, bust-ups and complicated kid arrangements; the endless hopes that they’ll reconcile and get the band back together; and the unmitigated ugliness as the bros slung vicious insults and threats at each other via Twitter.

But never fear, because we know that part of the reason why this book exists is because Noel and Liam patched things up and announced a comeback tour late last year. Something for the fans, for their Mam, and, ahem, for the money.

And while some sneer at all things Gallagher-ish, there’s also no doubt that some of their key songs are anthems for millions (and millions) out there: Champagne Supernova; Live Forever; the karaoke-friendly Wonderwall; the single-entendre (What’s The Story) Morning Glory; and Don’t Look Back In Anger, complete with its brazenly-pinched-from-John Lennon piano intro.

But, then again, if you’re going to steal then you might as well steal from the best.