As Britain mourned those killed in the Manchester Arena bombings, Oasis’ hit single “Don’t Look Back In Anger” became an anthem of healing and soared to the top of the UK charts. Now Liam and Noel Gallagher are doing their part by donating their royalties from the song’s latest sales spike to a Manchester relief fund.
The song first became associated with Manchester when a choir from Chetham’s School of Music performed the song two days after the attack. A day later, a crowd gathered at Manchester’s city center and sang “Don’t Look Back In Anger,” following a moment of silence in memory of the victims. On Sunday, at Ariana Grande’s “One Love Manchester” benefit concert, Grande performed the tune with Coldplay, while Liam Gallagher joined them onstage later to perform another Oasis song, “Live Forever.”
Noel Gallagher’s absence at the benefit show reignited a long-standing feud between the two brothers, as Liam chastised Noel on Twitter for not showing up. “Get on a f—ing plane and play your tunes for the kids you sad f—,” he wrote.
According to NME, British radio host Marcus Smart, a friend of Noel, responded to the tweets by mentioning on air that Noel, who wrote “Don’t Look Back In Anger,” had been donating his royalties for the song since before the benefit concert was announced. Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin also defended Noel, thanking him on Twitter for giving his blessing to perform the song. On Thursday, Pitchfork confirmed that Liam was also donating his royalties as a performer on the track.