Robbie Williams Takes Swipe at Noel Gallagher With Manchester Billboard Ahead of BRITs Week Show

Robbie Williams has taken a cheeky swipe at Noel Gallagher by placing a billboard for his Manchester concert on the street where Gallagher once lived.

Williams is performing at Manchester’s Aviva Studios on February 27 as part of BRITs Week 2026. The special show will feature songs from his debut album Life Thru A Lens and his recent Number One record BRITPOP. Support comes from The Lottery Winners, and all proceeds will go to War Child, which helps young people affected by conflict.

To promote the gig, Williams put up a billboard on Whitworth Street West — where Gallagher lived in the early 1990s before Oasis became famous. During that time, Gallagher wrote much of the band’s 1994 debut album, Definitely Maybe.

The billboard features a quote from a Daily Telegraph review of BRITPOP, which says the album has “sing-along choruses to make Noel Gallagher question whether he ever needs to bother writing another song.” Williams shared a photo of the poster on Instagram with the caption: “LONG 90’S IN MANCHESTER… TONIGHT!”

Williams and the Gallagher brothers have had a rocky relationship since the height of Britpop in the mid-1990s. The tension included public insults, Williams’ challenge to Liam Gallagher at the 2000 BRIT Awards, and years of sharp comments in interviews.

In 2022, Williams called Oasis “bullies” during their peak but also said he has always been a huge fan of the band. Liam later responded, saying he has never bullied anyone and apologized if he had hurt anyone’s feelings.

The rivalry resurfaced again after the Oasis reunion announcement in 2024, when Williams made another playful dig at Noel.

Meanwhile, the BRIT Awards 2026 will take place at Manchester’s Co-op Live on February 28. Noel Gallagher is set to attend after being named Songwriter of the Year. Responding to criticism about the award, he invited his critics to confront him on the red carpet, saying, “We’ll have it out.”