Noel Gallagher was born and raised in and around Manchester, England, United Kingdom.
Gallagher's childhood was tempestuous, and likely not religious, though he did attend Catholic school.[1] Gallagher's violent, chaotic upbringing seems to have continued to play itself out in adulthood.[2] And that includes religion. Gallagher is confused, and he admits it. He said:
I don't know what I am. If I was an atheist I'd just write songs about not believing in God – but I don't know what I am… I certainly don't believe in religion, although I find it fascinating that it's become so powerful in the world and it's kind of dictated morals down through societies for thousands of years, but I don't see the hand of God at work in the world anywhere.[3]
And he'll also admit that quite a few of his songs contain religious, and even Christian, imagery, saying it's a "great image." He would like to believe in comforting things like an afterlife where his relatives wait for him, but he just can't bring himself to do it.[4]
That being said, Gallagher has said he finds the tenets of Buddhism attractive:
Buddhism just sounds like a lot of common sense to me. You know, what you give is what you get and all that. That sounds like common sense to me, but I wouldn't say I was a Buddhist.[5]
So, in the end, what is he? I'd say a thoughtful agnostic.
Champagne politics
Gallagher has spoken often about various political positions. He started out a Labour supporter. He was excited and unapologetic meeting Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair, despite the PM's controversial position of siding with the U.S. regarding Middle East policy. He said:
I went to meet the Labour Prime Minister. Our parents always drummed into us that the Labour Party was for the people and the Tory Party was not. I went to meet the Labour Prime Minister.[6]
And he called Tory/Conservative legend Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher a "dick,"[7] so in terms of an "us against them" mentality, Gallagher felt that Labour is "us" and Conservatives are "them."
In U.S. politics, despite being a Brit, Gallagher was an Obama supporter in 2008, saying he wished the American president was a British politician, and managing to insult American arrogance and ethnocentrism:
Managed to catch that Barack Obama's speech to the Democratic rally. Impressive stuff. Spellbinding in fact. Wish he was one of ours. Why do Americans believe they're electing the president of THE WORLD though?[8]
However, as Gallagher ages, he echoes conservative sentiment regarding "those kids with the sense of entitlement" and laments the good old days under Thatcher, when people worked hard and the art and music was still good. He said of the British riots in response to austerity measures in 2011:
All over the world, Syria and Egypt, people were rioting for freedom. And these kids in England are rioting for tracksuits. It's embarrassing.[9]
Well, a young conservative is almost as rare as an old liberal, eh?
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