Oasis singer Liam Gallagher stopped playing the violin over fears he’d be bullied at school

11 August 2022, 12:09 | Updated: 11 August 2022, 12:10

The Oasis frontman, singer and iconic tambourine player, could have brought a very different sound to the 1990s rock band if he had continued playing the violin...

Liam Gallagher rose to fame in the 1990s as the lead vocalist of the English rock band, Oasis, alongside his brother, Noel.

The brother’s mother, Peggy, bought the future rock stars their first instruments when they were children. Noel was gifted a guitar from Peggy, which she brought from a mail order catalogue, while Liam was given a violin.

According to Supersonic: The Complete, Authorised and Uncut Interviews, the violin cost £30, putting their mum into debt.

Liam was apparently miffed that his elder brother had been given guitar lessons, so as soon as his mum had paid off the classical instrument, he told her, “I’m not carrying that violin up to school, people will think I’m a sissy”.

The 49-year-old rockstar has come a long way from worrying about what other people think when it comes to his music career, and has achieved four Number 1 solo albums, as well as seven Number 1 studio albums as part of Oasis.

Read more: Classical music perfect for creating that Oasis of calm after a long day

Oasis - Whatever (Official Video)

Despite not growing up to become a professional violinist, the sound of the string-instrument obviously stayed with Liam and his brother, as in 1994, Oasis released ‘Whatever’, a song which heavily featured a small string ensemble.

Written by his brother Noel, and performed by string-players from the London Session Orchestra, the track entered the UK’s singles charts at Number 3 in December 1994. It was the longest song the band had ever released at the time, at 6 minutes, 21 seconds.

But the violin’s presence had more impact that just one song in Liam’s discography. In 2019, the world discovered the Manc musician loves classical music.

Liam tweeted that he was listening to Erik Satie - a 19th century French classical composer - and chilling out. This caused his followers to start Googling who this artist was, and ask for song recommendations so they could listen too.

Read more: Pianist Igor Levit plays excruciating 20-hour Satie piece, to highlight artists’ plight during coronavirus pandemic

Whilst Liam didn’t end up sticking with the violin as a child, there’s always time to come back to the instrument, especially if he’s since developed his interest in classical music.

So Liam, don’t look back in anger at the musical opportunity you missed; as this 89-year-old musician who passed his Grade 3 piano proves, you’re never too old to be a music student again.