Oasis

NOEL Gallagher has reportedly grown close to socialite Tori Cook following his split from long-term girlfriend Sally Mash.

Friends of the pair have told the Mail on Sunday: “Tori and Noel are getting on really well and are enjoying each other’s company.”

According to the publication, Tori split from her husband three years ago, with whom she has two daughters with.

Noel, 58, and Tori, 44, are said to have been friends for almost a decade and she’s also pals with Sally.

She was on hand to support him at the Brit Awards where he was awarded Songwriter Of The Year in his home city of Manchester.

The two celebrated his win at an after-party at Soho House, along with his daughter Anais, 26, who she has “formed a bond” with, according to pals.

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She shared a snap at one of his Oasis tour dates last year with a group including the man himself and Sally.

The Sun have contacted Noel’s representatives for a comment.

It was announced this week that the Oasis singer had split from now-ex Sally after two years together.

Friends claimed that the pair called it a day earlier this year but insisted there was no “bad blood” between them.

A pal told The Sun: “Noel and Sally split earlier this year.

“There was nothing dramatic, it was amicable. They just weren’t right for each other.

“Noel and Sally have stayed the best of friends. There’s no bad blood there.”

The Sun first revealed the couple were dating back in October 2023.

Sally, whose exes include former Pop Idol judge Neil Fox, was Noel’s first public relationship since the end of his marriage to Sara MacDonald.

Noel confirmed it the following April, saying: “I’ve punched above my weight several times in my life. I think if you can make a girl laugh the battle is more than won.”

Noel also said she was “cool” about 1996 Oasis hit Don’t Look Back in Anger, on which he famously belts out the line: “So Sally can wait.”

Sally joined Noel on the Oasis tour last year — the band’s first since Noel and brother Liam’s bitter break-up in 2009 — including backstage at the momentous opening night in Cardiff in July.

The following month, Sally, who runs a private members’ club in Chelsea, was with Noel and ex-Doctor Who star Matt Smith at dinner in London.

Noel is dad to three children – he had daughter Anais with his first wife Meg Mathews and sons Donovan and Sonny with his second wife, Sara MacDonald.

The icon took to the stage at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester last week to accept his Songwriter Award.

During his short acceptance speech Noel thanked his Oasis bandmates, including his brother Liam Gallagher.

“They brought those songs to life, without them I’d just be a singer-songwriter and no one gives a s**t about singer-songwriters,” Noel began.

He also said a big thank you to their millions of fans.

“More importantly, I’d like to thank you, the people who’ve kept those songs alive for the last 35 years.

“Without you, you’ve given us the most extraordinary life, and thank you very much for that. Have a great night,” Noel concluded.

HE FINALLY patched things up with brother Liam for the Oasis reunion last summer.

And it seems that Noel Gallagher is now closer than ever with his nephews Gene and Lennon — after teaching them how to party hard at Sony Music’s official Brit Awards after-party.

The Rock ’n’ Roll Star songwriter proved he was exactly that, as the last man standing at 3:45am yesterday at the do in Manchester’s amazing Soho House — despite knocking back endless bottles of Peroni until the bar stopped serving.

An onlooker said: “Noel and Liam’s sons are really close, and they hung out all night at the Sony bash.

“He might be in his fifties now but Noel still knows how to party and he put his nephews to shame with the amount of booze he could knock back.

“Noel was in really high spirits after getting the Songwriter Of The Year award and he had so many people coming up and congratulating him.

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“Gene and Lennon tried to keep up with Noel but they couldn’t, he out-partied them by a country mile.

“Even Noel’s daughter Anais gave up trying and left at 3am — Noel just carried on drinking bottles of Peroni.

“When Noel left, it was amazing he could walk straight.

“But he is a proper rocker and showed all those young ones right up.

“When Gene finally decided he wanted to try and one-up his uncle, he went to the bar and was told they’d stopped serving.

“He tried three times to be served and was in a huff when he was told no.

“To be fair it was almost 4am — and he should have just kept up with Noel when he had the chance.”

Noel’s hedonism clearly rubbed off on the other stars at Sony’s bash, which was the best of all the star-studded after-parties, thanks to its stellar guest list.

Brits host Jack Whitehall told me earlier this month that he would be having an early night because his fiancée Roxy Horner and their toddler daughter were coming to Manchester to be with him.

But he ended up partying into the early hours of yesterday morning.

I spotted him holding court with a group of his mates upstairs near grime star Skepta, with Jack finally heading back to his hotel at 3am.

Hopefully he had some Nurofen stashed in a bag because I think yesterday could have been blighted by one almighty hangover — and a very excitable toddler.

LIAM GALLAGHER praised his brother from home as Noel collected his award.

He posted on X: “All hail the greatest songwriter this country has ever seen since Lennon and McCartney.”

He also showed his support for former foe Robbie Williams’ tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, writing: “He was unreal”.

Liam also revealed why he didn’t go to the event at Co-op Live. He told a fan: “I was scared… Of all those cool folks in 1 room, they make me nervous.”

Olivia’s up fur a party

OLIVIA DEAN had good reason to smile as she headed to an after-party following her incredible four wins.

The singer scooped Artist and Pop Act, plus Album and Single of the Year for her record The Art Of Loving and her Sam Fender collaboration, Rein Me In.

Olivia wrapped up in a fur coat which covered her sparkly minidress – but didn’t hide her legs from the northern chill.

She did opt to wear sunglasses too, but at that time of night, they certainly weren’t needed.

LILY GIVES DO COLD SHOULDER

LILY ALLEN pulled out of attending the Brits as she’s desperately trying to recover in time for the launch of her first tour in seven years.

She was up for three gongs – although she was pipped to the post for all three by Olivia Dean – and had been due to travel to Manchester on Saturday morning.

But Lily made the last-minute decision not to attend after battling a brutal cold last week.

She launches her Lily Allen: Performs West End Girl tour in Glasgow this evening and has been trying to conserve energy.

Last Tuesday, she told fans she had been in bed for two days because she was “so sick” and hadn’t been able to rehearse.

When she did get back to practising, she said she had lost the lower register of her voice.

There are very high expectations for the tour, as every date sold out on the day they became available.

So a night of partying probably wouldn’t have done her any favours.

ALEX WARREN performed Ordinary at the ceremony but it’s his new single Fever Dream which is climbing the charts.

The American, who was accompanied by James Blunt on piano at the show, released the track on Friday and it’s on course to be his second No1.

But Ordinary is also rising – up four places to No15 in the midweek charts.

Jade throws shade

JADE THIRLWALL’s feud with Noel Gallagher started at the Brits five years ago.

Following Little Mix’s win for British Group, he said they were “not in the same league as Oasis.”

And she made her feelings towards him clear when Noel was accepting his Songwriter Of The Year gong at this year’s awards – by swiftly exiting the room.

She chose that exact moment to head backstage as she prepared to present the International Artist of the Year award to Rosalia.

Back in 2021, Jade hit back at Noel’s comments and said: “We are the most successful girl group in the country – but he’s not even the most successful performer in his family.”

Something tells me she isn’t praying for another Oasis tour.

JOEL: NOT GRIM UP NORTH

WOLF ALICE drummer Joel Amey told me he’s pleased the Brits came to Manchester.

The North West city will host the ceremony for the next two years and, speaking backstage, and despite being a Londoner, Joel think it is a great move.

He said: “Not everything being in London is a good thing. Manchester has an incredible band culture, it has an incredible heart – it’s nice not to be in the same place all the time.

“As Londoners, we get so much there and people get a jaded – we need more of this feeling around the country. The Mercury Awards were in Newcastle and everyone got behind it, we need more of it.”

Of next year’s ceremony, Joel has a suggestion for the Global Icon award.

He added: “I would love to see Andre 3000 get it. I love him, everything Outkast has done is amazing and he has been doing this for ever.

“He was ahead of his time and we can see how influential he is now.”

STYLES HAS SPA QUALITY

HARRY STYLES kept things gentle at the Brits, having first kicked off the day at a top health spa in nearby Warrington.

The Aperture singer was seen getting a sweat on at the Park Royal Hotel, where one guest told me: “It was about 10.30am and Harry walked into the gym and started working out.

“I had to do a double take and other people clocked him, but no one bothered him. It was all very low key, you would never have known he is one of the biggest stars on the planet. It felt so surreal.”

Harry was very much man of the night at the Co-op Live Arena, but after his incredible opening performance, he didn’t go wild.

Despite having a table, Harry never left his backstage area and once the show had ended, he headed to Sony’s after-party for a quick 30-minute appearance.

A source said: “Harry was keen to be seen supporting Sony and the Brits but also is aware his tour kicks off on Friday at the Co-op Live Arena back in Manchester.

“It was a very low-key weekend for him, he left the party after half an hour.”

One person who was happy to let her hair down after performing though was Dua Lipa.

She hot-footed it to Warner Music’s official after-party alongside her family, who were taken to Manchester by her record label on the cool British Pullman Train, specially hired by the label for the weekend.

Dua made a beeline for the dancefloor with a gaggle of about ten pals before taking some time out for a cheeky ciggie in the smoking area.

Keen not to let her night end there, the Houdini singer was whisked across town to attend Sony’s after-party.

There she hung out with Mark Ronson and drank picantes until the early hours.

Mark so dashing

MARK RONSON delivered one of the most memorable sets of the night.

He played a medley of his hits and was joined on stage by Dua Lipa, and US rapper Ghostface Killah.

But the producer made a mad dash to the Manchester airport in the early hours and only just made his flight home to New York.

Following his Outstanding Contribution To Music win and stellar performance, he celebrated at Sony Music’s party at Soho House and took to the decks until 2am.

But he was forced to make a desperate plea for help after his hour-long DJ slot ended and no one had turned up to take over.

Mark, who was supported by Dua on the dancefloor, told the crowd: “I’m having a lot of fun but I have to catch a flight in two hours so can the other DJ please report to the booth.”

I’m told he made it to the airport by the skin of his teeth, and arrived safely back in the chilly Big Apple.

It’s a good thing he’s used to exceptionally late nights.

AFTER picking up two awards, Sam Fender was in the mood to party – but he shunned the posh dos for a backstage booze-up.

“Sam and his mates loaded up on cans of lager and stayed in the Co-op Arena,” one of my backstage moles explained.

“The stage was being dismantled and all the parties were open but Sam decided to hang around. He was on a massive high and was singing and laughing with his mates as they went to the artists’ green room to crack open some tinnies.”

Never change, Sam.

IT was the long, hot summer of 1995, John Major was in No10 and Blackburn Rovers were Premier League champions.

The music charts had been dominated by acting duo Robson and Jerome, until one crazy week in August when Britpop’s heavyweights began slugging it out.

Oasis and Blur released their new singles Roll With It and Country House on the same day in a race for the No1 spot — and the nation was absolutely mad for it.

It was an era-defining, pop culture moment, billed as North v South, working-class v posh boys and sing-along anthems v lyrical sophistication.

Yet even their most ardent fans would have struggled to imagine that 30 years down the line the rivalry in all its boozy, sweary glory would be transformed into a theatrical production.

The Battle — which opened at the Birmingham Rep theatre this week — is a comedic caper that tries to recreate the 90s vibe.

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So Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher — played by George Usher — is seen snorting lines of coke, swigging champagne and threatening to knock Blur singer Damon Albarn’s block off.

And the production includes more uses of the C word than have been uttered in much of the rest of British stage history put together.

The play’s writer, best-selling novelist John Niven, tells me he had to explain the context of the expletive-laden script to the actors.

He said: “The young cast found some of the language challenging at first.

“I had to say that that was just the way people spoke back then. It was more full-on and a much more unfiltered time.

“There’s five or six c***s in it but I guess that’s a lot for the theatre.

“But there’s no way you could accurately reflect those musicians over a five-month period without a few C-bombs dropping. It wouldn’t be authentic.”

John, 60, said he took inspiration for the narrative from a comment by Oasis manager Alan McGee about the rise of his band from a tough Manchester suburb.

He recalled: “Alan said, ‘The thing is, Blur think this is all good media fun but you’ve got five lunatics off a council estate in Burnage who actually want to f*****g kill them’.

“Blur moved the release date of their record to coincide with the Oasis single, so Liam thought, ‘Right, they’ve offered us out’.”

With actor George, 21, successfully aping Liam’s loping gait, he also gets to deliver the most one-liners.

John, who spoke to Blur’s bassist Alex James while writing the play, added: “Someone like Liam is so seductive to write for.

“Noel and Liam are both very funny in completely different ways.

“Noel is really dry and has got great timing, like a stand-up comedian, while Liam is much more surreal, random and unfiltered. He’s a delight to write dialogue for.

“Sometimes you think, ‘F***, have I gone too far there?’

“And then you could go online and find an interview with Liam where he said something ten times crazier.”

John — who began writing the play in 2023, long before the triumphant Oasis reunion last year — also had to explain to the young cast how the Britpop battle came to dominate the national conversation.

He said: “It was such a big cultural phenomenon. The whole country, from six-year-olds to 60-year-olds, knew about it.

“It went from the music papers to the broadsheets to the tabloids to News At Ten. Back then, things spread via radio, TV and the Press, whereas now the culture is so atomised.

“I’ve got teenage kids and you can have acts with a billion TikTok followers who play Wembley Stadium and I’ve never heard of them.”

After a blast of Blur’s Girls & Boys, the play begins at the February 1995 Brits, where Blur won four awards to Oasis’s one.

Collecting the prize for best British group, Damon insisted: “I think this should have been shared with Oasis.”

Interviewed later, Noel Gallagher said: “As far I’m concerned, it’s us and Blur against the world now.”

But the love-in didn’t last. Later that year Noel said of Blur: “The bassist and the singer, I hope the pair of them catch Aids and die because I f***ing hate them two.”

(The guitarist would later appologise, insisting he was “f***ed” on drugs when he made the remark).

When John began writing the play, he recalled the resentment that had built up between the bands in a few short months.

The former music company executive who was at the Brits that year, added: “I thought. Now there’s a dramatic arc.

“Back in February they had all been mates with Noel giving an interview saying, ‘It’s us and Blur against the world now’.

“Now he was saying he hoped they died.”

Then, in August Oasis’s record company Creation announced their new single Roll With It would be released a week before Blur’s Country House.

John added: “Blur’s manager Andy Ross was worried that Oasis would have a massive No1.

“Back then a single could top the charts for a month so Andy was worried the Blur would be stuck at No2.”

Andy, played by Gavin and Stacey star Mathew Horne, decides to move Country House’s release date forward to coincide with Oasis and all hell was unleashed.

The then influential music magazine NME produced a front cover with the headline, British Heavyweight Championship, Blur v Oasis.

A then 29-year-old Clive Myrie reported breathlessly for the BBC News At Ten on the brewing rivalry.

Like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in the 1960s, the two bands divided friends and families into rival camps.

An exclusive in the The Sun revealed that Oasis-mad Mandy Vivian-Thomas had kicked out her husband Richard for being a massive Blur fan.

Richard said: “Mandy’s been a nightmare. She’s spent a fortune on trash about Oasis and the last starw was using my card to buy their record.

“I’m out on my ear but I’m hoping things will calm down.”

Headlined, You Blurty Rat, the Sun article takes centre stage in The Battle.

It’s cited by Blur guitarist Graham Coxon as a symptom of how the chart battle has seen his band drift away from their indie ideals and into the mainstream.

John explained: “It became apparent how different the two bands were because I think Noel and Liam loved being in the tabloids and wanted to be that big.

“They had no problems with having loads of reporters outside their door. They thought, ‘We want to be the biggest band in the world and this is part of it’.

“But I reckon Blur found it all much more uncomfortable, especially Graham. That when you get that big you’ve got the tabloids banging on your door.

“I think he thought, ‘This is getting crazy now.’”

In the end, it was Blur who would win the Battle of Britpop with Country House topping the charts but Oasis would go on to have a more stellar career.

John added: “Damon and Noel are pals now.

“When men are in their 20s and 30s and they’re really ambitious, they’re all claws and teeth, sharp edges and hustling.

“You hurt people trying to get where you want to be but I think as men get older in their 40s and 50s they get a lot nicer and they calm the f*** down a bit.”

John hopes the play will transfer to the West End after runs in Birmingham and Manchester.

“I don’t think we’ll see a time when two bands dominate the national consciousness in a way like that again,” he said.

“It’s almost impossible to imagine.”

TOUCH OF TARANTINO

EFFING and jeffing as he struts around the stage like a rampant chimp, George Usher has Liam Gallagher down to a tee.

I’m supping a lager in the stalls at the Birmingham Rep, where if you suck your gut in and comb your hair forwards, it could be 1995 all over again.

With blasts of their hits, and aided by newsreel and radio clips, the great Battle of Britpop is fought once again.

The dialogue is pacy, comedic and very sweary. Yet with two bands, assorted managers and girlfriends to cover, there is little time for character development.

However, just as the play seems to be running out of narrative, it plunges into a Quentin Tarantino-esque sequence.

It’s a fittingly surreal end to this parable of a drug-addled decade.

★★★☆☆

NOEL Gallagher has confirmed he will reunite with brother Liam – three months after their Oasis reunion tour wrapped.

The brothers reunited after 16 years for a sensational five month tour – starting in Wales and ending in Brazil.

The Sun revealed last week that Noel will be getting a starring role when the Brit Awards come to his home city of Manchester this month.

The Wonderwall hitmaker will be honoured with Songwriter of the Year during the ceremony at Co-op Live.

Although some fans were left divided over Noel winning the prize in a year that he has not released any new material.

Meanwhile, Noel hit back over the decision to award him Songwriter of the Year at the upcoming Brit Awards. 

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Speaking on talkSPORT Drive about the award, Noel said: “I haven’t written a song for two years.

“I’m not sure how I’ve got away with that one but I’ll take it.”

Asked about the controversy, he responded: “Is there? I don’t know. Why, what’s it now?”

Host Andy Goldstein said: “Some people are questioning the fact that you’ve won it and haven’t written a song.”

Noel replied: “Well, I think the Brits is all based on record sales, and I’m not sure there was another single songwriter that sold… I mean, we sold a million records last year.

“Didn’t even get off the couch and I’m not sure there’s a songwriter that can match that.

“But you know, if anybody’s got a problem with it, meet me there. We’ll have it out on the red carpet.

“If any of those wet wipes songwriting teams, all 11 of them, want to write a song between the lot of them, want to have it out on the red carpet, I’m there.”

Noel then revealed that he and Liam are planning on reuniting for a Carabao Cup final, which takes place in March.

Revealing whether Liam will be at the BRITs with him, Noel said: “I haven’t, no, we’re just organising tickets for the Carabao Cup final today, but no, I haven’t spoke to him about that, no.”

The Sun revealed that mastermind behind Oasis‘s incredible back catalogue of hits would be receiving the award later this month.

A source said: “Noel has more than earned his stripes and after the phenomenal effect of Oasis’ reunion tour last summer, the time felt right to give him the honour.

“The cultural impact of Noel’s songwriting is hard to quantify. It’s not just the timeless hits from Oasis, like Wonderwall, Champagne Supernova and Live Forever, that he is being honoured for, but also the career-defining songs he wrote for his solo albums with High Flying Birds.

“The Brits are planning a special visual tribute to Noel too, which will showcase some of the highlights of his work before he picks up the awards.”

He famously said in 2013 that he’d never attend the ceremony again, after moaning it had lost its rock ‘n’ roll magic when he spotted Muse drummer Dominic Howard smoking an e-cigarette on the balcony above him.

Noel, below, said: “It was an instantly forgettable night. There was nothing going on at the Brits, there was nothing going on at the after-show parties.

“There are no characters left in the music business. I saw the drummer from Muse smoking an electronic cigarette. I had to say to him, ‘Really?”

Noel added: “That will be the last time I attend that show unless I get some award for . . .  ‘and the award this year for the only person in England writing his own songs, oh that’s right, there’s only one nominee’.”

This year marks 30 years since Noel and brother Liam enjoyed their biggest night at the Brits.

They picked up three gongs — Best Group, Best Album for (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? and Best Video for Wonderwall.