Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds

Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds are an English rock band formed in 2010 as the solo moniker of Oasis songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist Noel Gallagher. The touring band consists of former Oasis members Gem Archer (guitar), Mike Rowe (piano), and Chris Sharrock (drums), as well as former Zutons bassist Russell Pritchard. The band has also had a variety of guests contribute to albums such as the Crouch End Festival Chorus, Amorphous Androgynous, Johnny Marr, and Paul Weller.Since his departure from Oasis in August 2009, many speculated that Gallagher might record a solo album. In July 2011, he held a press conference to confirm this, after denying rumours from his brother Liam had already heard the tracks featured on it. Later that year, Noel released the project's self-titled debut album. Several singles from the album were released, including "The Death of You and Me", "If I Had a Gun...", "AKA... What a Life!", "Dream On", and "Everybody's on the Run". In 2015, High Flying Birds released their second album, Chasing Yesterday. Their third, Who Built the Moon?, was released in November 2017, which was followed by 3 EPs released between 2019 and 2020. Their fourth studio album, Council Skies, was released in June 2023.Gallagher stated in an interview on The Jonathan Ross Show that the inspiration for the band's name was from two sources: the idea to prefix the name with "Noel Gallagher's" was formed while he was listening to the album Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, while the latter part of the name is taken from the song "High Flying Bird", most notably recorded by Jefferson Airplane.On 12 July 2009, rumours began to spread that Noel Gallagher intended to go solo, but these appear to have had no foundation. Two months later, a fight between the Gallagher brothers took place in a backstage area, reportedly resulting in Noel's guitar being smashed by Liam, and Noel subsequently storming off. On 28 August 2009 Oasis' manager announced the cancellation of their concert at the Rock en Seine festival near Paris just minutes before it was about to begin, along with the cancellation of the European tour and a statement that Oasis "does not exist anymore". Two hours later, a statement from Noel appeared on the band's website writing that "with some sadness and great relief...I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer."Gallagher's solo career plans began in earnest after Oasis disbanded. On 6 July 2011 Gallagher held a press conference in London during which he announced that Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds would release a self-titled album on 17 October 2011, and a second collaboration with Amorphous Androgynous would be released in 2012. In August 2011, he released his debut single "The Death of You and Me", to positive reviews. Following the success of "The Death of You and Me", Gallagher confirmed on his website that the band's next UK single would be "AKA... What a Life!" which was released on 11 September 2011. "If I Had a Gun...", Gallagher's first US single, was made available on iTunes on 20 September 2011. Gallagher's second album was to be a collaboration with Amorphous Androgynous, due in late 2012. He said, "It sounds a bit like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. The sound is similar to High Flying Birds, but more psychedelic and tripped out. It's not an electronic project. People are jumping to that conclusion because Amorphous Androgynous used to be an electronic outfit."

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.