"Wibbling Rivalry" is a single released under the name "Oas*s" by the Fierce Panda record label in 1995.[1] It is a recording of John Harris (working for NME at the time) interviewing brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis on 7 April 1994, on the verge of their commercial breakthrough.[2] The interview is famous for featuring a violent argument between the brothers over an incident that occurred a few months prior in which Liam incited a drunken brawl on board an overnight ferry to the Netherlands, which resulted in the entire band (apart from Noel, who was not involved) being arrested and deported.[3][4] The title is a play on the expression sibling rivalry with the word wibble, and was chosen by Fierce Panda co-founder and former NME journalist Simon Williams, whose choice of title puns featured on other releases on the label.[5]
| "Wibbling Rivalry" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Oas*s | |
| Released | 1995 |
| Recorded | 7 April 1994 |
| Studio | Forte Crest Hotel, Glasgow |
| Genre | Interview |
| Length | 14:32 |
| Label | Fierce Panda |
The single contains a 'Liam Track' featuring predominantly Liam's use of profanities and a 'Noel Track' featuring Noel.[2] "Wibbling Rivalry" holds the record as the highest-charting interview release in the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 52 on 25 November 1995.[6][5]
The single's cover features English underworld figures Ronnie and Reggie Kray.
Release
editAccording to Williams, Fierce Panda took "a while" to dare themselves to release the single, due to Oasis being signed to Creation Records, who were owned by Sony Music. He explained: "We were quite worried. Then I got a call from Sony's lawyers and I thought, 'Uh-oh, this is it!' But they just said they loved it and asked me to send them a copy. And Noel was great about it."[5] Both Liam and Noel approved of the release.[7] Phil Sutcliffe noted that the release followed Oasis's major hit single "Wonderwall", which he said gave the band "fresh-minted iconic status", and described "Wibbling Rivalry" – a "Gallagher bros barney-cum-interview single" – as one of several "fond welcome accorded daft Oasis spin-offs" that affirmed the band's status at the time, alongside tribute band No Way Sis and the easy listening cover of "Wonderwall" by Mike Flower Pops.[8]
Critical reception
editGregor Muir reviewed the single for Frieze. Writing that if the listener is able to "ignore the Oasis-factor", the single still essentially consists of "two Northern men arguing". He counted Georgina Starr's video Crying (1993) and Tom Gidley's Thinking Out Loud: Proposal for a Sound Archive (1993) as then-recent precedents of "extreme, private emotion isolated at source", adding that "Gidley's imaginary sound archive—photographs of reel-to-reel tapes labelled 'Anxious', 'Confused', 'Excited' and 'Exhausted'—pre-empts a market for bootleg interviews with the Gallagher brothers where they display an emotion other than anger."[9] In a 1996 article, Phil Sutcliffe of Q described "Wibbling Rivalry" as "the Troggs Tapes de nos jours, a merciless assemblage of outtakes from an early interview which exposed bare naked the sibs' capacity for foul-mouthed epiphanies of internecine daftness."[7]
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Chris True wrote that, released at the height of Oasis' fame, "Wibbling Rivalry" is "a testament to the tempestuous relationship that exists between Noel and Liam Gallagher. It is 14 minutes of bickering, profanity, and drunken pride that the serious Oasis fan will listen to over and over." He also noted the unusual nature of a bootleg charting in the UK.[10] In 2000, Robin Bresnark of Melody Maker described the single as "legendary".[11] In 2009, Ian Gittins of The Guardian described it as "Fierce Panda's most notorious 7in release", despite it not containing "a note of music".[5] In 2016, Evan Minsker of Pitchfork described the release as "easily one of the best Oasis records".[12]
Track listing
edit- "Noel Side... (A lot of swearing and cussing)"
- "Liam Side... (Even more swearing and cussing)"
References
edit- ^ "Fierce Panda Records". www.fiercepanda.co.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
- ^ a b "Noel and Liam's Wibbling Rivalry - A history of music's most argumentative brothers - NME". NME. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
- ^ "Wibbling Rivalry Transcript". www.oocities.org. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
- ^ "Oasis recall drunken ferry fight in new 'Supersonic' clip - watch - NME". NME. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
- ^ a b c d Gittins, Ian (20 February 2009). "Single vision". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ "wibbling-rivalry | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ a b Sutcliffe, Phil (February 1996). "Oasis". Q. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ Sutcliffe, Phil (September 1997). ""Piece of piss!": The Oasis Diaries". Q. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ Muir, Gregor (1 September 1996). "Wibbling Rivalry". Frieze (26). Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ True, Chris. "Wibbling Rivalry Review by Chris True". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ Bresnark, Robin (19 January 2000). "The Oasis Story, Part 1: From Rain to Definitely Maybe". Melody Maker. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ Minkser, Evan (1 September 2016). "Dueling Potato Brothers: The Collected Oasis Fights and Insults". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 August 2022.