The Strange Car History Of Oasis And The Gallagher Brothers

Well, an Oasis reunion isn’t something we had on our bingo cards for 2024. Or 2025. Or 2026. Or… ever. We all assumed the perma-arguing Gallagher brothers had had enough after the infamous plum-throwing incident that brought an end to Oasis in 2009, but against all odds, the band’s getting back together for a series of gigs in the UK and Ireland next year.

Now, we’re obviously not a music website, but music and cars have always gone very much hand-in-hand. There’s no end to the list of music stars who’ve used their fortunes to indulge in a passion for cars, but the Gallaghers… aren’t on that list. In fact, as far as anyone knows, neither of them have driving licences. Maybe that’s why Liam wanted to ride with you in your BMW.

That small hurdle didn’t stop the late Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts from amassing a huge collection of classics, though, and it hasn’t stopped Noel or Liam from indulging in the odd automotive misadventure, either – and as you might expect from a duo whose favourite insult is ‘potato’, their car choices are a bit… odd.

Let’s start with older brother Noel. Riding high off the enormous success of Oasis’ first three albums, he decided to get himself a car, despite, y’know, not being able to drive. Said car ended up being a 1967 Jaguar Mark 2 – chosen because it was made in his year of birth – with a drop-top conversion by UK firm Vicarage.

Essentially an early restomod with some other light mechanical enhancements, Gallagher ordered the car at a cost of over £100,000, and promptly forgot about it, as he revealed to Radio X in 2019: “I was in the kitchen one day and this low-loader pulled up outside the house with this car on the back. I was putting the kettle on, thinking: f***ing lovely car, that. I’m gonna get one of those, one day. And the guy knocked on the door and said 'Mr Gallagher? Your car!' I’d forgotten that I’d bought the car.”

The Jag sat in his possession for over 20 years, hardly ever being moved because – we cannot stress this enough – Noel can’t drive. His wife would occasionally take it out, though. In 2022, he finally sold it for £125,000, and tends to be chauffeured about in a Range Rover.

It seems, though, that the Gallaghers are always trying to outdo one another, even when it comes to buying slightly esoteric British luxury cars despite not being able to drive. At some point, Liam owned a Bristol 603, a four-seater coupe made by the former aircraft manufacturer and powered by a beefy Chrysler V8.

Where this car is now, why Liam went for such a left-field choice, and precisely what he did with it because (polite reminder) HE CAN'T DRIVE – remains a mystery.

The car everyone associates with Oasis, though, is the white Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow in the pool on the cover of their 1997 album, Be Here Now. As GQ reported in 2022, it was a scrapper with no engine, which is probably why it’s sitting with its nose pointed skywards on the album art.

Its exact fate after its moment in the Britpop spotlight isn’t confirmed, but the most likely outcome, per GQ, is that it ended up as a banger racer with a Ford Granada V6 under the bonnet.

Thus ends our whistle-stop tour of Oasis’ strange relationship with cars. Maybe if this most unexpected of reunions is a success, Liam and Noel can treat themselves to some lessons. Little by little, they might just be able to get their licences. D’you know what I mean?

Vicarage Jaguar image: andreboeni, CC BY 2.0