'Why Noel said we had to be at the Oasis comeback'

In the early 1990s, Liam Walsh was carving out a career as a publicist and counted among his friends as an yet-unknown musician called Noel Gallagher.

The pair were neighbours in the India House apartment block in Manchester, which had become a haven for acts performing at the nearby Hacienda Club.

Walsh plugged Oasis's early singles and shows, and stayed close to them throughout their rise to global stardom and the band's acrimonious split in 2009.

So it is perhaps little wonder that Gallagher decided Mr Walsh and his long-time colleague Alison Bell "had to be there" for last week's reunion gig in Cardiff.

Walsh described those early 1990s days as "beautiful".

"We feel lucky that we were growing up around those days, right in in the nineties. We really do. The atmosphere, certainly in the north and most certainly in Manchester... it was electric."

He added: "We knew all the bands. We hung out with the bands. And those bands that were your friends were suddenly on Top of the Pops.

"It was actually really, really bizarre to see Noel, Liam and Bonehead on there."

Bell said in the years before the bigtime hit, Gallagher had been keen for feedback on the band's performances and tunes.

"He said to me after a gig, 'What do you think of the band?'

"And I said, 'They're good. Liam's a good front man, but some of the songs probably need a bit of work on them', which Noel said he was going to do."

As Gallagher honed his craft, the close-knit nature of the community came in handy for Walsh and Bell as their publicity firm Red Alert grew.

The day it moved into new offices in premises owned by music mogul Pete Waterman, Liam Gallagher and former Oasis guitarist Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs were among the removal men.

While some relationships stayed strong, others did not survive the band's meteoric rise.

Drummer Tony Carroll left the band in 1995 while Oasis were basking in the glory of breakthrough album Definitely Maybe, released the year before.

Arthurs left in 1999, and a backstage bust-up between Noel and Liam at the Rock En Seine festival in Paris in 2009.

Bell and Walsh said they doubted they would ever see the band reunite.

"So the minute the minute that we heard it," Walsh said, "both Alison and I independently texted Noel and he just said 'You two can come, you two have got to be there'."

Bell added: "To watch them walk back on stage, the two brothers, after 16 years... after all that fighting publicly... it was a beautiful moment."

Bell and Walsh said they hoped to be able to see the band again when they return to Manchester on Friday for a run of five shows.

"I think their hometown gigs, certainly the Friday night, it's got to be special for them," said Walsh.

"It's a massive happening, not just a gig, it's a happening for Manchester."

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