My feud with Oasis that led to Noel calling me a ginger whinger and Liam slamming me in front of a crowd of 70,000 By Angela Epstein Published: 20:52 AEST, 30 August 2024 | Updated: 20:56 AEST, 30 August 2024 e-mail 6 shares View comments The warring Gallagher brothers may, finally, have buried the hatchet. But as Oasis announce their sensational comeback tour, there’s one feud that’s yet to be resolved: mine with Liam and Noel. It saw Liam insult me on stage in front of a crowd of 70,000 and Noel pen a blog post in which he called me a ‘joyless husk’.
And the news that the band will be playing some of their reunion concerts on my doorstep — in Heaton Park, Manchester — has brought it all rushing back, since this was how our fall-out began 15 years ago. I must stress this isn’t personal — at least not for me. After all, though not quite my Wonderwall, I do like their music.
However, storm clouds began to gather in June 2009 when the band were scheduled to play a trio of shows in Heaton Park. For those who are unfamiliar with the area, this north Manchester beauty spot comprises 600 acres of rolling parkland. I was brought up in the area (I still live here) and the tranquillity of Heaton Park has bookmarked much of my life.
From playing there as a kid to being courted as a teenager by my husband Martin then pushing prams on long sleep-deprived walks, Heaton Park has been my strength and stay for decades. On the night of the first concert on June 4, 2009 (pictured), Liam shouted at the audience. ‘I’d like to dedicate this next one to a Mrs Epstein, who works for the Evening News who reckons the likes of us shouldn’t be in here – the lesbian.
’ So the prospect of the Oasis juggernaut invading this precious space filled me with horror. At the time I was working as a columnist for the Manchester Evening News (MEN) and used the platform to raise thunderous objections to the concerts. ‘Aside from the noise, the litter and the shedloads of booze-flushed Gallagher lovers flooding through our streets till the early hours, tanked up on cigarettes and alcohol, why was it necessary in the first place?’ I wrote.
Read More Revealed: Hurtful insult about Noel Gallagher's daughter by Liam's son that led to a rift Instead, I wondered, if the band was fed up with playing at football stadiums, why didn’t they perform on a piece of derelict wasteland, cleaning it up and improving the landscape so that they could also leave some kind of legacy for the locals? Clearly my column hit a nerve. On the night of the first concert on June 4, 2009, Liam roared his displeasure on stage. Before playing Cigarettes & Alcohol, he shouted at the audience.
‘I’d like to dedicate this next one to a Mrs Epstein, who works for the Evening News who reckons the likes of us shouldn’t be in here – the lesbian.’ Believe me, the sound of 70,000 people booing your name – I heard it later in a clip uploaded on YouTube – is something that lingers in the memory. However, on the night itself I became aware of Liam’s outburst through my then 16-year-old son, Sam.
Disinterested in my views on the park, he had actually attended the concert. Angela Epstein responded with another column on the incident – which then inspired the ire of the other Gallagher brother Arriving home afterwards he yelled up the stairs to me: ‘I can’t get away from my own mother – even at an Oasis concert!’ I responded with another column on the incident – which then inspired the ire of the other Gallagher brother. Writing on his official blog, Noel referred to me as ‘a ginger whinger from the MEN who has written a couple of sh***y little pieces over the last few days.
‘In them she claimed that we – and by that I mean YOU – had no “right” to “come up here” from London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Tokyo, LA, Milan, all over the world in fact, to “her” wonderful piece of England and enjoy ourselves and leave a little bit of mud. What a joyless old husk!!’ So did this slanging match with the Gallaghers bother me? Not remotely (though the ‘old’ was a bit harsh). It reminded me how even rock gods can be stung by the power of words.
Far more troubling was the state of the park when the Oasis circus left town a few days later. Not to mention the front gardens of nearby residents, which had been used as urinals by fans. I regarded such shows as a violation of a lovely open space (Heaton Park , pictured) Little more was said in our war of words, since Oasis broke up a few months later when Noel quit after a fight with Liam in Paris.
However the precedent had been set and the park would be used for other large-scale music events. And though admittedly with each concert or festival, the organisation and clean-up would improve, I still regarded such shows as a violation of a lovely open space and bemoaned Oasis for setting the trend. All of which brings me full circle, with the band due back at Heaton Park for five nights in July next year.
Now urbane multi-millionaires who have long since shipped out of Manchester, will Liam and Noel be bothered with a joyless husk who simply wants to protect a precious part of my – and their – city? Don’t look back in anger, fellas...
Representatives for the Gallaghers declined to comment. Share or comment on this article: My feud with Oasis that led to Noel calling me a ginger whinger and Liam slamming me in front of a crowd of 70,000 e-mail 6 shares Add comment.
