title: Noel Gallagher

text: As teenagers, the Gallagher brothers were regular truants, often getting into trouble with the police. When his mother took a job in the school canteen, Gallagher ensured that he stopped by to visit her during lunch before skipping the rest of the day. He was expelled from school at the age of 15 for allegedly throwing a "flour bomb" at a teacher, though he has since claimed that he didn't do it and that he was only present in the classroom when it happened. He used to hang around with the Manchester City hooligan firms Maine Line Crew, Under-5s, and Young Guvnors in the 1980s, and received six months' probation at the age of 14 for robbing a corner shop. It was during this period of probation, with little else to do, that he first began to teach himself to play guitar, a gift from his mother. He would play his favourite songs from the radio, and was particularly inspired by the debut of the Smiths on "Top of the Pops" in 1983, performing their single "This Charming Man". He later said that, from that day on, he "wanted to be Johnny Marr". He also appeared (and scored) for Manchester Gaelic football team CLG Oisín at Croke Park in Dublin in 1983.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: As teenagers, the Gallagher brothers maintained limited contact with their father and secured jobs in construction. However, the relationship between father and sons continued to be tempestuous; Gallagher said, "Because we were always arguing, we'd still be working at nine o'clock every night." Having left his father's building company, he took a job at another building firm sub-contracted to British Gas. He sustained an injury when a heavy cap from a steel gas pipe landed on his right foot. Following a period of recuperation, he was offered a less physically demanding role in the company's storehouse, freeing up time for him to practise the guitar and write songs. He claimed to have written at least three of the songs on "Definitely Maybe" in this storehouse, including "Live Forever". He later called the storehouse "The Hit Hut" and claimed the walls were painted gold. Much of the late 1980s found Gallagher unemployed and living in a bedsit, occupying his time by using recreational drugs, writing songs, and playing the guitar. He is left-handed, but plays right-handed.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In May 1988, Gallagher met guitarist Graham Lambert of Inspiral Carpets during a Stone Roses show. The two became acquainted and Gallagher became a regular at Inspiral Carpets shows. When he heard singer Steve Holt was leaving the band, he auditioned to be the new vocalist. He was unsuccessful, but became part of the band's road crew for the next two years. He struck up a friendship with monitor engineer Mark Coyle over their love of the Beatles, and the pair spent soundchecks dissecting the group's songs.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In 1991, Gallagher returned from an American tour with the Inspiral Carpets to find that his brother Liam had become a singer with a local band called the Rain. He attended one of their concerts at Manchester's Boardwalk but was unimpressed by the group's act. After rejecting an offer from Liam to be the band's manager, Gallagher agreed to join the band, on the condition that he would take creative control of the group and become its sole songwriter. According to another source, Gallagher told Liam and the rest of the group after having heard them play for the first time: "Let me write your songs and I'll take you to superstardom, or else you'll rot here in Manchester". His control over the band in its early years earned him the nickname "The Chief".


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In May 1993, the band heard that a record executive from Creation Records would be scouting for talent at King Tut's in Glasgow. Together, they found the money to hire a van and make the six-hour journey. When they arrived, they were refused entry to the club because no one notified the venue that Oasis had been added to the bill. The band eventually secured the opening slot and played a four-song set that impressed Creation founder Alan McGee.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: McGee then took the "Live Demonstration" tape to Sony America and invited Oasis to meet with him a week later in London, at which point they were signed to a six-album contract. Gallagher has since claimed that he only had six songs written at the time, and has put his success in the interview down to "bullshitting". However, McGee believes that when they met, Gallagher had fifty or so songs written, and merely lied about how prolific he had been following the contract. Richard Ashcroft was so impressed with Oasis during the time, that he invited them to tour with his band the Verve as an opening act.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher claimed to have written Oasis' first single, "Supersonic", in "the time it takes to play the song". "Supersonic" was released in early 1994 and peaked at No. 31 on the official UK charts. The single was later followed by Oasis' debut album "Definitely Maybe", which was released in August 1994 and was a critical and commercial success.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: It became the fastest-selling debut album in British history at the time and entered the UK charts at number one. Despite their rapidly growing popularity, Gallagher briefly left Oasis in 1994 during their first American tour. The conditions were poor, and he felt the American audience—still preoccupied with grunge and metal—did not understand the band. Gallagher stated that his early songs, especially "Live Forever", were written to refute grunge's pessimism. Tensions mounted between him and Liam, culminating in a fight after a disastrous gig in Los Angeles. Having effectively decided to quit the music industry, he flew to San Francisco without telling the band, management or the crew. It was during this time that Gallagher wrote "Talk Tonight" as a "thank you" for the girl he stayed with, who "talked him from off the ledge". He was tracked down by Creation's Tim Abbot, and during a trip by the pair to Las Vegas, Gallagher decided to continue with the band. He reconciled with his brother and the tour resumed in Minneapolis.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher followed up the debut in 1995 with Oasis' first UK number-one single in "Some Might Say". This preceded their second album, "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?", released later that year. Though it suffered initial critical apathy, the album became the second fastest-selling album ever in the UK, entering the UK album charts at number one and peaking at number four on the US "Billboard" 200 chart.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: The success of Oasis and his newfound fame and fortune were not lost on Gallagher, and both he and his brother became famous for their "rock and roll lifestyle". They drank heavily, abused drugs, fought fans, critics, peers, and each other, and made celebrity friends such as Ian Brown, Paul Weller, Mani, Mick Jagger, Craig Cash, Kate Moss and Johnny Depp. Gallagher spent extravagantly, buying various cars and a swimming pool, despite the fact he can neither drive nor swim. He named his house in Belsize Park in London Supernova Heights (after the song "Champagne Supernova"), and his two cats "Benson" and "Hedges" after his favourite brand of cigarettes.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Oasis went on to have greater success with their next two singles, "Wonderwall" and "Don't Look Back in Anger" charting at number two and number one respectively; the former becoming their sole top 10 hit in the US. Originally, Noel had wanted to take lead vocals on "Wonderwall", but Liam insisted on singing it. As compensation, Noel decided he would sing lead vocals on "Don't Look Back in Anger". 1995 also saw Gallagher play two songs for the charity album "Help!": "Fade Away", accompanied by friend and Oasis fan Johnny Depp and Depp's then-girlfriend Kate Moss; and the Beatles' 1969 hit "Come Together", along with Paul Weller, Paul McCartney and others in a supergroup called Smokin' Mojo Filters. He began collaborating with the Chemical Brothers, Ian Brown, the Stands, the Prodigy and Weller, amongst others. Gallagher became so influential that a June 1996 "NME" article argued that "If Noel Gallagher, the most successful songwriter of his generation, champions a group, then said group are guaranteed more mainstream kudos and, quite possibly, more sales. And since Noel has taken to championing only five or six groups, then it's a powerful cabal he's promoting." The "NME" article grouped the bands Gallagher praised, including the Boo Radleys, Ocean Colour Scene, and Cast, under the banner of "Noelrock". John Harris typified these bands, and Gallagher, of "sharing a dewy-eyed love of the 1960s, a spurning of much beyond rock's most basic ingredients, and a belief in the supremacy of 'real music'".


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In March 1996, Gallagher and his brother Liam met their father again when the "News of the World" paid him to go to their hotel during a tour. He left for his room, later commenting "as far as I'm concerned, I haven't got a father. He's not a father to me, y'know? I don't respect him in any way whatsoever". In August 1996, Oasis sold out two nights at Knebworth, playing to over 250,000 fans. Following the worldwide success of "Morning Glory?", "Be Here Now" (1997) became Oasis' most eagerly anticipated album to date. As with the previous two albums, all the tracks were written by Gallagher. After an initial blaze of publicity, positive critical reviews, and commercial success, the album failed to live up to long-term expectations, and public goodwill towards "Be Here Now" was short-lived. The album was ultimately regarded by many as a bloated, over-indulgent version of Oasis, which Gallagher has since blamed on the drug-addicted state and indifference of the band at the time. While the album was a recordbreaker, selling 813,000 copies in seven days, Gallagher has been critical of the album's popularity, saying: "Just because you sell lots of records, it doesn't mean to say you're any good. Look at Phil Collins."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher began to have drug-induced panic attacks during this period. His depression and paranoia inspired the song "Gas Panic!", subsequently included on the 2000 album "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants". He claimed to have quit using illicit drugs on 5 June 1998. Gallagher stated in 2001, "I liked drugs, I was good at them. But I'd had panic attacks for about a year and I stopped because I wanted to. After you make the decision, it is quite easy." Of the period between 1993 and 1998, Gallagher claims, "I can hardly remember a thing."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: After the hype surrounding the release of "Be Here Now" had started to wane, critical response to the band became calmer and more considered, leading to a media backlash. In 1997, Gallagher was criticised for attending a high-profile and well-publicised media party at 10 Downing Street, hosted by the new Prime Minister, Tony Blair, along with other celebrities and industry figures who had supported New Labour in the run-up to the general election. Liam and Blur's Damon Albarn declined their invitations, with Albarn commenting "Enjoy the schmooze, comrade". The perception of Gallagher as someone now mixing with politicians and a famous photograph of him sipping champagne with Blair conflicted with the "working class hero" status championed through songs such as "Up in the Sky".


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In 1999, rhythm guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs quit the band, with bassist Paul McGuigan following soon afterwards. As a result, the fourth studio album, "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants", was recorded by just the Gallaghers and drummer Alan White, with Noel playing all guitar parts. He later commented on Bonehead's departure, "It's hardly Paul McCartney leaving the Beatles, is it?". After the recording sessions were completed, Gallagher selected Gem Archer to join in place of Bonehead.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Later that year Alan McGee decided to leave Creation and sold the rest of his 51% stake in the label to Sony. Gallagher took this opportunity to set up Big Brother Recordings, which took over Oasis' distribution in the UK, but Sony imprint Epic Records continued to handle the band's international distribution. Around the time of the album's release, Andy Bell, formerly of Ride, joined the band as bassist. In 2001, Gallagher formed his label, Sour Mash Records, which released records by the likes of Shack and Proud Mary. The incorporation of the label followed Gallagher's debut as a producer, working with Proud Mary on their debut, "The Same Old Blues". In 2003, Gallagher received songwriting credits from Girls Aloud's single "Life Got Cold" due to the song's guitar riff being similar to "Wonderwall".


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In late 2006, Gallagher toured the UK, Europe, Japan, America and Australia in a series of acclaimed intimate semi-acoustic gigs accompanied by Gem Archer and Terry Kirkbride on percussion. The show proved successful and a further series of sets took place in 2007. March 2007 saw Gallagher perform in Moscow—the first time an Oasis member has performed in Russia. Gallagher dismissed claims that he was planning to embark on a solo career. In early 2007, Gallagher joined the rest of Oasis to collect the "Outstanding Contribution to Music" Award at the Brit Awards 2007.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher, along with the band recorded their seventh studio album between 2007 and the next year at Abbey Road Studios and in Los Angeles. At the end of the summer of 2008 the band began a tour that lasted 12 months. In March 2009, "The Times" in conjunction with iTunes released a selection of live recordings by Noel Gallagher taken from his semi-acoustic performance at the Royal Albert Hall on 27 March 2007 in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust. "The Dreams We Have as Children" features classic and rare tracks from the Oasis canon along with several cover versions of some of Gallagher's favourite artists.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: On 28 August 2009, Gallagher quit Oasis after a fight with his brother, Liam. Shortly before midnight on Friday, Gallagher posted a statement on his message board called "Tales from the Middle of Nowhere" on the band's website announcing his departure.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher's first concerts without Oasis were announced on 1 February 2010 to be at London's Royal Albert Hall on 25 and 26 March 2010 for Teenage Cancer Trust . He was supported by the Courteeners and Plan B respectively. Terry Kirkbride and Gem Archer joined him on-stage, as did Jay Darlington, all of whom Gallagher had previously worked with while he was still a member of Oasis. He played a mostly acoustic set, and played a variety of Oasis album tracks and B-sides. It was almost the same set he played at the Royal Albert Hall in 2007. Gallagher also joined friend Paul Weller onstage in London on 21 April 2010, and played the Oasis song "Mucky Fingers" and a song he co-wrote with Weller, "Echoes Round the Sun".


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher confirmed that he would be returning to the studio in August 2010 to record drums for an unnamed artist, later confirmed to be Paul Weller. He also denied rumours that he would be the Best Man for Russell Brand's marriage to Katy Perry. In August, it was mentioned on a UK Music blog, Sourmash Music, that Gallagher had been working with Liverpool group the Sand Band. Lead singer David McDonnell has been co-writing with Gallagher and are looking to collaborate on future solo projects together.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: On 24 November 2010, Miles Kane revealed that Gallagher sang on a track from his debut solo album titled "My Fantasy". Kane also revealed that he will appear on Gallagher's forthcoming album, playing guitar.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: On 10 February 2011, Gallagher stated he had "not even started" his first solo record, despite Liam rumouring that he 'swiped' material from the "Dig Out Your Soul" sessions. "I am not recording new stuff, not just yet," he said to Talksport. "It'll be out when it's finished I guess. Well I've not even started it, so I don't know."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds released a self-titled album on 17 October 2011; a collaboration album with Amorphous Androgynous was to be released in 2012 but has now been shelved indefinitely. He began touring in Dublin on 23 October 2011. The touring band announced for Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds comprised David McDonnell (guitar), Russell Pritchard (bass), Mikey Rowe (keyboards) and Jeremy Stacey (drums); McDonnell left during rehearsals and was replaced before the tour with Tim Smith who had played with Rowe and Stacey previously. On 20 July 2011, Gallagher released a 47-second trailer of his first single "The Death of You and Me". The video for the debut single was released on 25 July at 8:21 am (GMT).


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Following the self-titled debut, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds released their second album "Chasing Yesterday" 2 March 2015. In 2016 Gallagher co-wrote "Birth of an Accidental Hipster" with Paul Weller for the Monkees. In June 2015, Gallagher confirmed he was working on a third High Flying Birds album, later announced to be titled "Who Built the Moon?" and released on 27 November 2017. On 9 September 2017, Gallagher along with his band served as the headline act of "We Are Manchester", a benefit concert to mark the reopening of Manchester Arena (following a terrorist attack there in May).


title: Noel Gallagher

text: On 2 May 2019, the band released "Black Star Dancing", the title track of their EP, which was released on 14 June 2019. On 5 August 2019, Gallagher's band released the title track "This Is The Place" for a second EP which was released on 27 September 2019. The same month, Gallagher toured the United States with The Smashing Pumpkins. Gallagher appeared on First We Feast's "Hot Ones" in October 2019.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: On 14 November 2019, Noel released a new single 'Wandering Star'. The single was released in promotion of his studio EP 'Blue Moon Rising'. The EP also featured reflex and 7" mixes of the title track, released on 6 March 2020.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: On 29 April 2021, Gallagher announced the release of the band's first greatest hits album, titled "". The album is a double release, which along with 16 previously released tracks, features two new songs; "We're On Our Way Now" and "Flying On the Ground", the former of which was released as a single the same day as its announcement. It was released on 11 June 2021. In an interview with Apple Music, Gallagher said that "Best of Bee Gees" is one of his favourite albums and that it inspired the cover of "Back The Way We Came". Seven days after its release, "Back the Way We Came" became Gallagher's 12th UK No. 1 album.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: On 10 September 2011, Gallagher alongside his long-time friend Matt Morgan, stood in for Dermot O'Leary on BBC Radio 2.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In March 2013, Gallagher, along with Russell Brand, Morgan and Mr Gee, hosted a one-off radio show on XFM in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In an interview with "NME" in 2014 whilst promoting his solo debut album "Everyday Robots", Damon Albarn hinted at a collaborative project with Gallagher. Despite the years of animosity during Blur and Oasis' respective heyday, Albarn said: "We're talking. It's not anything to get excited about yet. I mean, he's doing his thing. He's finishing a new record. I've got my record coming out, but the principle of us making music together is something, you know. It would be fair to say, we have discussed it at least once."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In March 2015, Gallagher revealed that he was considering retirement from live shows within the following 10 years. He stated: "It's not fun being on a bus for six weeks in America. It's fine when you're young, but I'm almost 50."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In March 2017, Albarn's animated band Gorillaz released the track "We Got the Power" featuring Gallagher on backing vocals.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: From 8 to 22 August 2021, Gallagher presented "The Radio X Residency" with Morgan every Sunday 7 pm to 9 pm throughout on Radio X.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher became engaged to his girlfriend Diane at the age of 18, but they never married and eventually separated. In 1988, he moved out of his family home to live with Louise Jones, whom he described as his "soulmate" and for whom he wrote "Slide Away". They had an on-again, off-again relationship before separating in June 1994, with Gallagher stating, "I don't think I'll ever get over it."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In June 1997, Gallagher married Meg Mathews in Las Vegas. He had met her in 1994 through her roommate, MTV presenter Rebecca de Ruvo, whom he was dating at the time and whom he left for Mathews. Mathews gave birth to a daughter, Anaïs Gallagher, on 27 January 2000. Gallagher and Mathews divorced in January 2001 on the grounds of his adultery with Scottish publicist Sara MacDonald, whom he met at Ibiza nightclub Space in June 2000. After the divorce was finalised, Gallagher claimed that he had never actually been unfaithful and had only claimed to have cheated on Mathews to speed up the divorce process.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher then began a relationship with MacDonald, and wrote "Waiting for the Rapture" about their meeting. They have two sons: Donovan Rory MacDonald Gallagher (born 22 September 2007) and Sonny Patrick MacDonald Gallagher (born 1 October 2010). They were married on 18 June 2011 in a private ceremony at the Lime Wood Hotel in New Forest National Park. His close friend Russell Brand was the best man. They currently live in Hampshire.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher is friends with Gary Mounfield, Richard Ashcroft (to whom he dedicated the Oasis song "Cast No Shadow"), the Chemical Brothers, John Lydon, Steve Jones, Kasabian, Andy Nicholson, Ricky Hatton, Paul McCartney, Jamie Carragher, Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Johnny Marr, Damon Albarn, Morrissey, Bono, Paul Weller, Johnny Depp (who played slide guitar on the Oasis song "Fade In-Out"), and Kate Moss (who used to stay with him when she was visiting London). Around the time that actor Ewan McGregor found out he had been cast as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Gallagher (his next-door neighbour) challenged him to a battle with toy lightsabers in his garden the morning after a party.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In 1998, Gallagher made a cameo appearance as himself in an episode of "The Young Person's Guide to Becoming a Rock Star". He was a frequent guest on "The Russell Brand Show" on BBC Radio 2, appearing on almost every show, leading Brand to dub him an unofficial "co-presenter". He is also a regular on the digital radio sports show "TalkSPORT".


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In 2001, Gallagher was reported to have an estimated personal fortune of £25 million. In 2009, "The Sunday Times" Rich List estimated his and Liam's combined personal fortune at £52 million.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher is a lifelong Manchester City F.C. supporter, admitting he "cried like a baby" when they won the 2011–12 Premier League. He is a friend of the team's former midfielder Joey Barton, as well as Italian striker Alessandro Del Piero, who described Gallagher as Italy's "lucky mascot" during the 2006 FIFA World Cup and appears in the video for Oasis' "Lord Don't Slow Me Down". Gallagher and Kasabian lead guitarist Sergio Pizzorno took part in drawing teams for the FA Cup third round in 2011. Coincidentally, Pizzorno drew his hometown team Leicester City with Gallagher's Manchester City for the third round tie, in which both teams drew 2–2 and Manchester City proceeded to win 4–2 in the replay. He participated in the unveiling of Umbro-sponsored football kits with captain Vincent Kompany. In the advertising campaign, the two men are pictured wearing the new Manchester City home and away shirts for the 2012–13 season. Formerly, Kompany had introduced Gallagher to 80,000 fans during the Rock Werchter music festival in Belgium. Manchester City regularly play the Oasis song Wonderwall, which was written by Gallagher, after home matches.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: The son of Irish immigrants, Gallagher supports the Irish national football team and has said that he does not consider himself "to be English at all". Nevertheless, he did serve as an official ambassador for England's bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Gallagher is also a fan of the National Football League, noting in an ESPN interview, "I love the NFL. I don't have a team "per se", but I'm into it. NFL comes on late night in the UK when I'm up. I love the colour and energy of it all. There's so many things going on in American football. It took me a while to get it, but I like it a lot."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher stated in a 2006 radio interview with Russell Brand that he does not believe in "God or an all-guiding force". Despite this, many of his songs have mentioned God (such as "The Hindu Times" and "Little by Little"), and all the tracks he had contributed to "Dig Out Your Soul" (as well as the other bandmates' songs) have lyrics and references to God and other biblical terms. "Dig Out Your Soul" has been described by Gallagher as a "religious Armageddon". In 2009, he stated, "See, 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." In 2017, he reaffirmed his lack of belief in God in an "Actually Me" segment for GQ


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In 2008, Gallagher sold his home in Ibiza near the home of fellow musician James Blunt, saying in an interview that he "can't stand living there in the knowledge that Blunt is nearby making terrible music".


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher was reportedly asked by Simon Cowell to be a judge on "The X Factor" after Dannii Minogue, Cheryl Cole, and Cowell himself declined to participate in series 8, but he declined.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In 2012, Gallagher was among the British cultural icons selected by Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork (the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album cover) to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher was the primary songwriter in Oasis, and the sole songwriting contributor on the group's first three albums. He is often criticised for the praise he gives to his own songs, to which he quipped, "If you'd written 'Live Forever', you'd be walking to a different tune the next day too." He has often been accused by critics of plagiarising the music of his heroes, but he has maintained that outright homages in his music are intentional. In a 1996 "Guitar World" interview, he described himself as "a fan who writes songs" and stated, "I'm not saying, 'I'm the greatest songwriter in the world. Listen to me.' Usually, I'm saying, <nowiki>'</nowiki>"These" are the greatest songwriters in the world. And I'm gonna put them all in this song.'" His response to critics on the topic of "blatantly" stealing riffs was, "No, I don't feel guilty. But you feel pissed off because you didn't do it first." He added, "When I'm making a record, I've always been of the notion that if a song sounds like T. Rex, well, fuck it, let's make it sound more like T. Rex! I know there's bands that might write something that sounds like the Smiths, and they'll go, 'Oh, it sounds like the Smiths, we've got to make it sound not like the Smiths.' If I'm writing a song and I say to myself, 'Oh, hey, it sounds like the Kinks,' then I'm going to turn it into a Kinks track."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Comparing himself to other guitarists, Gallagher stated, "I can barely play like Peter Green, let alone fucking Jeff Beck." He also said, "I'm unfortunate enough that two of my best mates are Johnny Marr and Paul Weller. Those two are virtuosos to me although neither of them would admit it. On the electric guitar they're it. So if you're asking me how do I compare to those two—and I like to compare myself to the greats—I'm average at fucking best." Weller described Gallagher's ability as a guitarist as "rudimentary", saying, "Noel doesn't pretend to be a guitar god. He's very good at putting chords together and he's got a distinctive style in terms of his chord sequences and his rhythm playing. It's recognisable." Though naturally left-handed, Gallagher plays guitar right-handed, which he claims is the only thing he can do with his non-dominant hand.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher has said he sometimes does not understand his own lyrics, commenting in 2005, "When I'm halfway through 'Don't Look Back in Anger' I say to myself, 'I still don't know what these words mean!'" By 2017, he had reflected, "There is a bit of truth in that statement. Like the bit in 'Champagne Supernova' about 'slowly walking down the hall faster than a cannonball'. What does that mean? And the answer is, I don't know what it means. I don't care what it means. It must mean something, though, because I play it to a sea of people every night and they seem to understand it. That's all that matters, I guess." He has stated that he is dyslexic, which slows down the process of his songwriting, and that he can neither read nor write music notation.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher's role as a chief songwriter for Oasis changed over time as he allowed a greater level of lyrical input from the other band members. "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" included Oasis' first-ever album track written by his brother Liam. "Heathen Chemistry" included a further three tracks by Liam (including "Songbird"), one by Gem Archer, and one by Andy Bell. The album "Don't Believe the Truth" featured another three tracks by Liam (one of them, "Love Like a Bomb", co-written with Archer), one from Archer, and two from Bell. The latter two albums have been greeted with increasing critical and commercial success in the UK, particularly "Don't Believe the Truth". The second single from "Don't Believe the Truth", "The Importance of Being Idle", became the second Oasis track sung by Noel to top the UK charts and was named 2005's finest track by "Q" magazine, as well as being nominated for the "NME" "Best Song of 2005" award. On the final Oasis albums, Gallagher's increasing role as lead singer, apparently to compensate for his diminished role as songwriter, caused some tension with Liam.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Zak Starkey, son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and previous drummer for The Who and Johnny Marr, replaced long-time drummer Alan White during the recording sessions for "Don't Believe the Truth". The loss of White prompted Gallagher to comment in a 2005 interview that he credits Oasis' trouble with drummers, in part, to the fact that he is himself a talented drummer: "I get a lot of stick for it, but I'm the best drummer in the group."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher is well known for his controversial and outspoken statements in the press; he acknowledged his tendency for "faux pas" in the song "My Big Mouth" on the album "Be Here Now". He has defended himself, saying, "People think [I'm] controversial for the answers [I] give to silly questions in interviews, but ... I'm not thinking about insulting people; I say what I genuinely feel is in my heart. My conscience is clean, d'you know what I mean? Y'know, I'm true to myself—fuck everybody else."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: The most infamous of Gallagher's controversial statements was in a 1995 interview with "The Observer", where he expressed a wish for Damon Albarn and Alex James of rivals Blur to "catch AIDS and die". He quickly apologised for the comment and stated that "AIDS is no laughing matter". This statement was preceded by the success of "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?", which led to a well-documented feud with Blur. The differing styles of the bands, coupled with their prominence within the Britpop movement, led the British media to seize upon the rivalry between the bands. Both groups played along, with the Gallaghers taunting Blur at the 1996 BRIT Awards by singing a rendition of "Parklife" when they collected their "Best British Band" award, with Liam changing the lyrics to "shite-life".


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher maintains that the rivalry was conceived by the magazine "NME" and members of Blur's entourage as a ploy to raise their respective profiles, and that he has had no respect for either party ever since. However, Albarn has suggested the roots of the feud were much more personal. Tension between the two had largely cooled by 2007, and Gallagher said in an "NME" interview, "I've got a lot of respect for Damon, I really do mean it. Because I'm indifferent to Damon he thinks that I think he's a cunt. Our Liam will talk to him, I won't because he's just another singer in a band to me, but I don't think he's a cunt." On 23 March 2013, Gallagher, Albarn, Graham Coxon, and Paul Weller performed the Blur hit "Tender" at the Teenage Cancer Trust. Gallagher and Coxon later provided backing vocals on the song "We Got the Power" on Albarn's Gorillaz album "Humanz". In 2019, he confirmed in an interview with Dermot O'Leary on BBC Two that he and Albarn had become friends.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: The Gallagher brothers infamously share a tumultuous relationship, and one of their arguments was even released on the 1995 bootleg single "Wibbling Rivalry". Although their relationship had stabilised in later years, there were a handful of incidents during the band's early career where the two physically attacked each other. At a Los Angeles show during their first American tour in 1994, Liam took to changing the words of the songs so that they were offensive to both Americans and Noel. An argument after the show which led to a chair being thrown and a fight breaking out caused Noel to leave the tour and head for Las Vegas, and he later claimed he had "visions of "Fear and Loathing" flashing in [his] eyes". During recording sessions for "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?", the brothers had a violent fight involving a cricket bat when Liam invited everyone from a local pub into the studio while Noel was trying to work. In 1995, Noel sang "Wonderwall" on "Later... with Jools Holland" when Liam failed to turn up.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In 1996, Noel provided lead vocals at a performance for "MTV Unplugged" when Liam backed out minutes before the set was due to start. Liam claimed to have been struck down with a "sore throat", but the band later found out that Liam did not like performing acoustically. Noel was further annoyed when Liam proceeded to heckle him from the balcony and "nurse his sore throat" with beer and cigarettes while the band performed. Just before the band were about to board a plane to the United States for a big tour, Liam left the airport, claiming he had to find a house for his then-wife Patsy Kensit. He later joined the band for their last few gigs and the infamous MTV Awards performance, while the remaining dates were scrapped.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: While on tour in Barcelona in 2000, Oasis were forced to cancel a gig when Alan White's arm seized up, and the band spent the evening drinking instead. Liam made a crude remark about Gallagher's then-wife Meg Mathews and attempted to cast doubt over the legitimacy of his daughter Anaïs, causing Noel to headbutt him. Following this, he declared he was quitting overseas touring, but returned for an Oasis gig in Dublin on 8 July 2000. During the performance, the two brothers shook hands at the end of "Acquiesce".


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Liam once stated that he did not speak much with Noel and that they "don't really have a relationship". During the final tour, the only time that they ever spoke directly was when onstage. Noel would later reveal that while they were in Oasis, the two "never hung out together outside of the band, ever".


title: Noel Gallagher

text: The relationship between the two brothers again became strained throughout 2009, eventually leading to a last-minute cancellation of an Oasis concert scheduled to take place on 28 August in Paris due to an "altercation within the group". Later that evening, Gallagher confirmed he had left Oasis as he "simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer". Through the Oasis website, he said, "It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight." On 29 August, he expanded further on his blog: "The level of verbal and violent intimidation towards me, my family, friends and comrades has become intolerable. And the lack of support and understanding from my management and band mates has left me with no other option than to get me cape and seek pastures new."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: When asked in 2012 about his brother and an Oasis reunion, Gallagher said, "I last texted Liam at Christmas after the City match. I don't think it's gonna happen. It would be great for everyone else except me. It'd be mega for the millions and millions and for everybody else it would be brilliant, but I wouldn't be very happy about it. I guess you don't know what you're gonna feel like in 20-odd years but right now, I mean I was in Oasis for nearly 20 years. I've been doing what I'm doing now for one year and I'd like to see what it's like to do it for longer. I don't think anyone is pushing for a reunion either. Nobody ever brings it up in any seriousness; I mean Liam does publicly but he says a lot of things publicly. I wouldn't take anything he says seriously." After their performance of "Wonderwall" at the London Olympics Closing Ceremony, which Gallagher had originally turned down, he referred to Liam's band Beady Eye as "Stratford's finest Oasis tribute band".


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In December 2017, during an interview with an Australian newspaper, Liam claimed that he and Noel had declared a "truce". However, in February 2018, Liam revealed that the truce did not happen and that it was just "in his head" after "a couple of drinks". In a 2019 interview in Norwegian-Swedish talk show "Skavlan", Noel said that Liam is spreading a false rumour online that Oasis would get back together if Noel's wife would let him, and that she is receiving lots of abuse because of it.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher reportedly criticised the organisers of the 2008 Glastonbury Festival for scheduling U.S. hip-hop artist Jay-Z as a headliner for the traditionally rock-focused festival: "If it ain't broke don't fix it. If you start to break it then people aren't going to go. I'm sorry, but Jay-Z? No chance. Glastonbury has a tradition of guitar music and even when they throw the odd curveball in on a Sunday night you go, 'Kylie Minogue?' I don't know about it. But I'm not having hip-hop at Glastonbury. It's wrong." Emily Eavis, the organiser of the festival, said she was honoured Jay-Z was headlining the event: "He's absolutely the right act for our festival. There's no reason why we should not have the greatest living hip-hop artist on at Glastonbury." Eavis also reminded Gallagher that The Roots, Cypress Hill, and De La Soul had all previously performed at Glastonbury. Jay-Z said, "We don't play guitars, Noel, but hip-hop has put in its work like any other form of music. This headline show is just a natural progression. [...] We have to respect each other's genre of music and move forward."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Jay-Z opened his Glastonbury set with a cover of Oasis' song "Wonderwall". When Gallagher was asked about the incident, he replied:


title: Noel Gallagher

text: When Jay-Z was asked about Gallagher's comments, he said, "I haven't spoken to [Gallagher], I heard he was reaching out. I don't bear any grudge, it's all good. I just believe in good music and bad music, I've always said that. You look at any interview from the beginning of time, I've always stated that I don't believe in the lines and classifications that people put music in so they can easily define it." When asked who he would be interested in collaborating with, he said, "Anyone. Oasis as well. It doesn't matter to me."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher has frequently criticised Phil Collins, saying his music is bland and the opposite of what he stands for. He was quoted as saying, "People hate fucking cunts like Phil Collins, and if they don't, they fucking should!" He also called Collins the "antichrist". Prior to the 2005 UK election, he stated that he was still supporting the Labour government partly because of his concern that "Phil Collins is threatening to come back and live here [if the Conservatives win] and let's face it, none of us want that". Collins responded by saying that Gallagher "loves slagging me off". He also denied that he was a Conservative Party supporter in an interview in "The Guardian". He appeared on the BBC television series "Room 101" and nominated to banish the Gallagher brothers, describing them as "rude and not as talented as they think they are". In his 2016 autobiography, "Not Dead Yet", Collins recalled meeting Gallagher in 1996 at a bar in Mustique. Gallagher declined Collins' request to jam with him.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher has spoken about his political views on several occasions. He was quoted: "Politics is like football for me. Labour is my team and even if you don't like a striker you don't give up supporting the whole team. Labour is the lesser of two evils. What else should we have? Anarchy? Someone has to be responsible". In 1997, he visited the recently appointed Prime Minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street. In an interview that year, when he was asked about why he visited Blair, he replied:


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher was passionate in his support for Barack Obama's successful bid for President of the United States, calling his acceptance speech to the 2008 Democratic National Convention "spellbinding".


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In 1997, he played a 5-song set at the Tibetan Freedom Concert in New York City. As a result, Oasis were deemed "unsuitable" by the Chinese government, forcing a planned tour of the country in 2009 to be cancelled.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher has also been very vocal about knife crime. In 2008 he was quoted: "The scumbags are taking over the streets. I don't know what David Cameron and Gordon Brown are going to do about it. It all goes back to the Thatcher years. It sounds like a cliché but that's when the rot set in." When the interviewer suggested it was for status he replied, "In my day status was about trying to be somebody, not trying to kill somebody, so how's that all changed?"


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In the 2010 general election, he voted for a candidate dressed as a pirate as a protest vote. Speaking out about the August 2011 riots that took place in England, Gallagher stated, "Last August I was on tour in Europe and people were asking me about the riots. All over the world, Syria and Egypt, people were rioting for freedom. And these kids in England are rioting for tracksuits. It's embarrassing." Gallagher claimed that violent video games and violent television shows which children were being exposed to were partially to blame for social problems.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In February 2012, he implied that the UK under the premiership of Margaret Thatcher was a more fertile ground for dissent in the arts: "Under Thatcher, who ruled us with an iron rod, great art was made. Amazing designers and musicians. Acid house was born. Very colourful and progressive. Now, no one's got anything to say. 'Write a song? No thanks, I'll say it on Twitter.' It's a sad state when more people retweet than buy records."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In a February 2015 interview with "The Quietus", Gallagher elaborated on his disillusion with current politicians and how they'll do anything to say they're just regular people: "And now the Conservatives are just [...] David Cameron, he's trying to be your mate. 'Oh, I really like the Jam.'" Gallagher then went on to say that Thatcher was brutal but more direct, and "you can kind of respect that".


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In an interview with "HuffPost" shortly before the 2015 United Kingdom general election, he summed up his views of contemporary political leaders: "David Cameron a bell-end, Ed Miliband a communist, the rest of them don't really count". In 2016, Gallagher stated that while he remained left-wing, he opposed Milliband's replacement as Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, deeming him to be another communist. He said that "the Tories don't care about the vulnerable, and the communists don't care about the aspirational."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher did not vote in the 2016 EU referendum, saying that he "didn't think we should have been given the vote in the first place because as ordinary members of the public how are the fuck are you qualified to talk about the break-up of the oldest continent in the fucking world." However, he also said that he felt Britain should have remained part of the EU saying, "I feel right at the time of it happening, we turned our back on the French, who were going through some dark terror shit." Conversely, he also said, "But it's happened now. It was a legal vote. Fucking get it done and let's move on."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Gallagher garnered attention for refusing to wear a face covering while shopping. He explained, during Matt Morgan's Podcast, "I choose not to wear one and if I get the virus it's on me, it's not on anyone else."


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In 2021, after being asked what he thought of the recent controversies surrounding the Royal Family, Gallagher expressed sympathy and support for Prince William and criticised Prince Harry and Meghan Markle over allegations they had made against other Royals by drawing a parallel between the situation and his brother Liam's public statements, stating "He's got a fucking younger brother shooting his fucking mouth off with shit that is just so unnecessary. I'd like to think I was always the William." Gallagher furthermore accused Meghan of negatively influencing Harry's personality and describing Harry as "coming across like a typical fucking woke snowflake", adding that "this is what happens when you get involved with Americans".


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Throughout his career, Gallagher has used a wide range of different guitars, effect pedals and amplifiers from his large collection. Most of it emerged from the "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" sessions, where he decided to drop the equipment used in the three previous albums and instead buy "loads of really weird pedals, old guitars, and small amps", as the lack of deadline to deliver the album allowed Gallagher to "take quite a few days just messing around".


title: Noel Gallagher

text: In the early days of Oasis, Gallagher did not use pedals: "I used to just turn up the amps as full as I could get them." Since then, he has begun using a large number of effects, but singled out the Ibanez Tube Screamer.


title: Noel Gallagher

text: Gallagher has said that he used only 100-watt Marshalls early in his career. After "Definitely Maybe", he began using smaller amps, singling out Fenders (Princeton and Bandmaster), and also a combo made by Clark Amplification, which builds amplifiers based on vintage Fender and Marshall amps. While recording "What's the Story Morning Glory?" Gallagher also used Orange and Vox amps. Orange later made Gallagher a custom amplifier, which was later sold online for £6,800.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely adapted by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from Gary K. Wolf's 1981 novel "Who Censored Roger Rabbit?". The film stars Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Stubby Kaye, and Joanna Cassidy, with the voices of Charles Fleischer and an uncredited Kathleen Turner. Set in a 1947 version of Hollywood where cartoon characters (commonly referred to as "toons") and people co-exist, the film follows Eddie Valiant, a private investigator who must help exonerate Roger Rabbit, a toon who has been framed for the murder of the Acme Corporation's owner.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Walt Disney Pictures purchased the film rights for the film's story in 1981. Price and Seaman wrote two drafts of the script before Disney brought in executive producer Steven Spielberg and his production company, Amblin Entertainment. Zemeckis was brought on to direct the film while Canadian animator Richard Williams was hired to supervise the animation sequences. Production was moved from Los Angeles to Elstree Studios in England to accommodate Williams and his group of animators. While filming, the production budget began to rapidly expand, and the shooting schedule ran longer than expected.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: The film was released through Disney's Touchstone Pictures banner on June 22, 1988. It received acclaim from critics, who praised its visuals, humor, writing, and performances, with critics and audiences considering it to be "groundbreaking". It grossed over $351 million worldwide, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 1988. It brought a renewed interest in the Golden age of American animation, spearheading modern American animation and the Disney Renaissance. It won three Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Visual Effects and received a Special Achievement Academy Award for its animation direction by Williams.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: In a world co-populated by humans and cartoon characters, "toons" regularly interact with real people, act in animated shorts and films, and reside in an area of Los Angeles known as Toontown. Private detective Eddie Valiant once worked closely with toons alongside his brother Teddy, but sank into depression and alcoholism after Teddy was murdered by a toon during a case.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: In 1947, R.K. Maroon, head of Maroon Cartoon Studios, is concerned about the recent poor performances of one of his stars, Roger Rabbit. Maroon hires Eddie to investigate rumors about Roger's voluptuous toon wife Jessica being romantically involved with Marvin Acme, owner of both the Acme Corporation and Toontown. After watching Jessica perform at an underground nightclub, Eddie secretly photographs her and Acme playing patty-cake in her dressing room, which he shows to Roger, who becomes distraught about his wife cheating on him.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: The next morning, Acme is discovered dead in his factory, and evidence points to Roger being responsible. While investigating, Eddie meets Judge Doom, Toontown's sinister superior court judge, who uses a chemical substance known as "The Dip", capable of destroying the otherwise invulnerable toons. Eddie later runs into Roger's toon co-star, Baby Herman, who tells him that Roger is innocent, and that Acme's missing will, which will give Toontown's ownership to the toons, may be the key to his murder. In his office, Eddie finds Roger, who begs him to help exonerate him. Eddie reluctantly hides Roger in a local bar, where his girlfriend Dolores works. Jessica approaches Eddie and says that Maroon forced her to pose for the photographs so he could blackmail Acme.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Doom and his toon weasel henchmen discover Roger, but he and Eddie escape with help from Benny, a toon taxicab. They flee to a theater, where Eddie tells Roger about the tragic loss of Teddy. As they leave with Dolores, Eddie sees a newsreel detailing the sale of Maroon Cartoons to Cloverleaf Industries, a mysterious corporation that bought the city's Pacific Electric transit system shortly before Acme's murder. Eddie goes to the studio to interrogate Maroon. Roger is sent to guard outside, but he is kidnapped by Jessica. Maroon tells Eddie that he blackmailed Acme into selling his company so he could sell the studio, then admits he only did so out of fear for the safety of the toons. Maroon is then murdered by an unseen assailant before he can explain the consequences of the missing will. Eddie spots Jessica fleeing the scene, and assuming she is the culprit, follows her into Toontown. Once he finds her, Jessica reveals that it was Doom who killed Acme and Maroon and that the former gave her his will for safekeeping, but she soon discovered it was blank. She and Eddie are then captured by Doom and the weasels.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: At the Acme factory, Doom reveals himself as the sole shareholder of Cloverleaf Industries and explains his plot to destroy Toontown with a machine fueled with dip to build a freeway full of attractions in its place and force people to drive it once he has the transit system decommissioned to control all the profits. When Roger unsuccessfully attempts to save Jessica, the couple is tied onto a hook in front of the machine's water cannon. Eddie performs a comedic vaudeville act full of pratfalls, causing the weasels to die of laughter before he kicks their leader into the machine's dip vat, killing him. Eddie then fights Doom, who is flattened by a steamroller but survives, revealing himself as a disguised toon – and the one who killed Teddy. Eddie empties the machine's supply onto the factory floor, spraying it all over Doom and melting him to death.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: The emptied machine then crashes through the wall into Toontown, where it is destroyed by a train. As the police and many dozens of toons gather at the scene, Eddie reveals Doom as Acme's murderer to everyone, clearing Roger's name. Eddie also discovers that Roger inadvertently wrote a love letter for Jessica on Acme's will, which was written in disappearing/reappearing ink, and Toontown's ownership is handed over to the toons. Having regained his sense of humor now that he has avenged Teddy, Eddie happily enters Toontown with Dolores alongside Roger, Jessica, and the other toons.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Walt Disney Productions purchased the film rights to Gary K. Wolf's novel "Who Censored Roger Rabbit?" shortly after its publication in 1981. Ron W. Miller, then president of Disney, saw it as a perfect opportunity to produce a blockbuster. Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman were hired to write the script, penning two drafts. Robert Zemeckis offered his services as director in 1982, but Disney declined as his two previous films ("I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and "Used Cars") had been box-office bombs. Between 1981 and 1983 Disney developed test footage with Darrell Van Citters as animation director, Paul Reubens voicing Roger Rabbit, Peter Renaday as Eddie Valiant, and Russi Taylor as Jessica Rabbit. The project was revamped in 1985 by Michael Eisner, the then-new CEO of Disney. Amblin Entertainment, which consisted of Steven Spielberg, Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy, were approached to produce "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" alongside Disney. The original budget was projected at $50 million, which Disney felt was too expensive.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: The film was finally green-lit when the budget decreased to $30 million, which at the time still made it the most expensive animated film ever green-lit. Walt Disney Studios chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg argued that the hybrid of live-action and animation would "save" Disney's animation department. Spielberg's contract included an extensive amount of creative control and a large percentage of the box-office profits. Disney kept all merchandising rights. Spielberg convinced Warner Bros., Fleischer Studios, Famous Studios, King Features Syndicate, Felix the Cat Productions, Turner Entertainment, and Universal Pictures/Walter Lantz Productions to "lend" their characters to appear in the film with (in some cases) stipulations on how those characters were portrayed; for example, Disney's Donald Duck and Warner Bros.' Daffy Duck appear as equally talented dueling pianists, and Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny also share a scene. Apart from this agreement, and some of the original Looney Tunes voice artists being hired to reprise their roles, Warner Bros. and the various other companies were not involved in the production of "Roger Rabbit". However, executives at Warner Bros. expressed displeasure at the animators using the Daffy design by Bob Clampett and demanded they use the design by Chuck Jones; in response to this, Zemeckis had separate artists animate Daffy using Jones' design to satisfy Warner Bros. to use Clampett's design in the final film. The producers were unable to acquire the rights to use Popeye, Tom and Jerry, Little Lulu, Casper, or the Terrytoons characters for appearances from their respective owners (King Features, Turner, Western Publishing, Harvey Comics, and Viacom).


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Terry Gilliam was offered the chance to direct, but he found the project too technically challenging. ("Pure laziness on my part," he later admitted, "I completely regret that decision.") Robert Zemeckis was hired to direct in 1985, based on the success of "Romancing the Stone" and "Back to the Future". Disney executives were continuing to suggest Darrell Van Citters direct the animation, but Spielberg and Zemeckis decided against it. Richard Williams was eventually hired to direct the animation. Zemeckis wanted the film to imbue "Disney's high quality of animation, Warner Bros.' characterization, and Tex Avery humor."


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Harrison Ford was Spielberg's original choice to play Eddie Valiant, but his price was too high. Chevy Chase was the second choice, but he was not interested. Bill Murray was also considered for the role, but due to his idiosyncratic method of receiving offers for roles, Murray missed out on it. Eddie Murphy reportedly turned down the role as he misunderstood the concept of cartoon characters and human beings co-existing; he later regretted this decision. Robin Williams, Robert Redford, Jack Nicholson, Sylvester Stallone, Edward James Olmos, Wallace Shawn, Ed Harris, Charles Grodin and Don Lane were also considered for the role. Ultimately Bob Hoskins was chosen by Spielberg because of his acting skill, and because Spielberg believed he had a hopeful demeanor and he looked like he belonged in that era. To facilitate Hoskins' performance, Charles Fleischer dressed in a Roger Rabbit costume and "stood in" behind camera for most scenes. Williams explained Roger was a combination of "Tex Avery's cashew nut-shaped head, the swatch of red hair... like Droopy's, Goofy's overalls, Porky Pig's bow tie, Mickey Mouse's gloves, and Bugs Bunny-like cheeks and ears."


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Tim Curry auditioned for the role of Judge Doom, but was rejected because the producers found him too terrifying. Christopher Lee was also considered for the role, but turned it down. John Cleese also expressed interest for the role, but was deemed not scary enough. Peter O'Toole, F. Murray Abraham, Roddy McDowall, Eddie Deezen and Sting were also considered for the role. Christopher Lloyd was cast because he previously worked with Zemeckis and Spielberg on "Back to the Future". He compared his part as Doom to his previous role as the Klingon commander Kruge in "", both being overly evil characters which he considered being "fun to play". He avoided blinking his eyes while on camera to perfectly portray the character.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Fleischer also voiced Benny the Cab, Psycho, and Greasy. Lou Hirsch, who voiced Baby Herman, was the original choice for Benny the Cab, but he was replaced by Fleischer.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Price and Seaman were brought aboard to continue writing the script once Spielberg and Zemeckis were hired. For inspiration, the two writers studied the work of Walt Disney and Warner Bros. Cartoons from the Golden Age of American animation, especially Tex Avery and Bob Clampett cartoons. The Cloverleaf streetcar subplot was inspired by "Chinatown". Price and Seaman said that "the Red Car plot, suburb expansion, urban and political corruption really did happen," Price stated. "In Los Angeles, during the 1940s, car and tire companies teamed up against the Pacific Electric Railway system and bought them out of business. Where the freeway runs in Los Angeles is where the Red Car used to be." In Wolf's novel "Who Censored Roger Rabbit?", the toons were comic-strip characters rather than movie stars.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: During the writing process, Price and Seaman were unsure of whom to include as the villain in the plot. They wrote scripts that had either Jessica Rabbit or Baby Herman as the villain, but they made their final decision with the newly created character Judge Doom. Doom was supposed to have an animated vulture sit on his shoulder, but this was deleted due to the technical challenges this posed. Doom would also have a suitcase of 12 small, animated kangaroos that act as a jury, by having their joeys pop out of their pouches, each with letters, when put together would spell YOU ARE GUILTY. This was also cut for budget and technical reasons.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: The Toon Patrol (Stupid, Smart Ass, Greasy, Wheezy, and Psycho) satirizes the Seven Dwarfs (Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, and Dopey), who appeared in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937). Originally, seven weasels were to mimic the dwarfs complement, but eventually, two of them, Slimey and Sleazy, were written out of the script. Further references included The "Ink and Paint Club" resembling the Harlem Cotton Club, while Zemeckis compared Judge Doom's invention of the Dip to eliminate all the toons as Hitler's Final Solution. Doom was originally the hunter who killed Bambi's mother. Benny the Cab was first conceived to be a Volkswagen Beetle before being changed to a taxi cab. Ideas originally conceived for the story also included a sequence set at Marvin Acme's funeral, whose attendees included Eddie, Foghorn Leghorn, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Tom and Jerry, Heckle and Jeckle, Chip n' Dale, Felix the Cat, Herman and Katnip, Mighty Mouse, Superman, Popeye, Olive Oyl, Bluto, Clarabelle Cow, Horace Horsecollar, the Seven Dwarfs, Baby Huey, and Casper the Friendly Ghost in cameo appearances. However, the scene was cut for pacing reasons and never made it past the storyboard stage. Before finally agreeing on "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" as the film's title, working titles included "Murder in Toontown", "Toons", "Dead Toons Don't Pay Bills", "The Toontown Trial", "Trouble in Toontown", and "Eddie Goes to Toontown".


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Williams admitted he was "openly disdainful of the Disney bureaucracy" and refused to work in Los Angeles. To accommodate him and his animators, production moved to England where a studio, Walt Disney Animation UK (subsuming Richard Williams Animation), was created for this purpose; located at The Forum, 74-80 Camden Street, in Camden Town, London, while the live-action production was based at Elstree Studios. Disney and Spielberg also told Williams that in return for doing the film, they would help distribute his unfinished film "The Thief and the Cobbler". Supervising animators included Van Citters, Dale Baer, Michael Peraza, Joe Ranft, Tom Sito, James Baxter, David Bowers, Andreas Deja, Mike Gabriel, Chris Jenkins, Phil Nibbelink, Nik Ranieri, Simon Wells, and Bruce W. Smith, while Williams and associate producer Don Hahn spearheaded the animation production. The animation production was split between Walt Disney Animation UK and a specialized unit in Los Angeles, set up by Walt Disney Feature Animation and supervised by Baer. The production budget continued to escalate, while the shooting schedule ran longer than expected. When the budget reached $40 million, Disney CEO Michael Eisner seriously considered shutting down production, but studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg talked him out of it. Despite the budget escalating to over $50 million, Disney moved forward on production because they were enthusiastic to work with Spielberg.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: VistaVision cameras installed with motion-control technology were used for the photography of the live-action scenes, which would be composited with animation. Rubber mannequins of Roger Rabbit, Baby Herman, and the Toon Patrol portrayed the animated characters during rehearsals to teach the actors where to look when acting with "open air and imaginative cartoon characters". Many of the live-action props held by cartoon characters were shot on set with the props either held by robotic arms or manipulated with strings, similar to a marionette. For example, a test was shot at ILM with an actor playing the detective would climb down a fire escape and the rabbit is supposed to follow and he knocks down some stacked boxes. Naturally, there would not be a rabbit during the test, so the camera would go down the fire escape and the boxes would fall when a wire was pulled. The actor who played the voice of Roger, Charles Fleischer, insisted on wearing a Roger Rabbit costume while on the set, to get into character. Filming began on November 2, 1986, and lasted for seven and a half months at Elstree Studios, with an additional month in Los Angeles and at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) for blue screen effects of Toontown. The entrance of Desilu Studios served as the fictional Maroon Cartoon Studio lot.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Post-production lasted for 14 months. ILM had already used CGI and digital compositing in a few movies, such as the stained glass knight scene in "Young Sherlock Holmes", but the computers were still not powerful enough to make a complicated movie like "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", so all the animation was done using cels and optical compositing. First, the animators and layout artists were given black-and-white printouts of the live-action scenes (known as "photostats"), and they placed their animation paper on top of them. The artists then drew the animated characters in relationship to the live-action footage. Due to Zemeckis' dynamic camera moves, the animators had to confront the challenge of ensuring the characters were not "slipping and slipping all over the place." To ensure this did not happen and that the characters looked real, Zemeckis and Spielberg met for about an hour and a half and came up with the idea that, "If the rabbit sits down in an old chair, dust comes up. He should always be touching something real." After the rough animation was complete, it was run through the normal process of traditional animation until the cels were shot on the rostrum camera with no background. Williams came up with the idea of making the cartoon characters “2.5-dimensional”, and the animated footage was sent to ILM for compositing, where technicians animated three lighting layers (shadows, highlights, and tone mattes) separately, to give the characters a sense of depth and create the illusion of them being affected by the lighting on set. Finally, the lighting effects were optically composited on to the cartoon characters, who were, in turn, composited into the live-action footage. One of the most difficult effects in the film was Jessica's dress in the nightclub scene because it had to flash sequins, an effect accomplished by filtering light through a plastic bag scratched with steel wool.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Regular Zemeckis collaborator Alan Silvestri composed the film score, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) under the direction of Silvestri. Zemeckis joked that "the British [musicians] could not keep up with Silvestri's jazz tempo". The performances of the music themes written for Jessica Rabbit were entirely improvised by the LSO. The work of American composer Carl Stalling heavily influenced Silvestri's work on "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". The film's soundtrack was originally released by Buena Vista Records on June 22, 1988 and reissued on CD on April 16, 2002.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: On January 23, 2018, Intrada Records released a three-CD set with the complete score, alternates, and a remastered version of the original 1988 album, plus music from three Roger Rabbit short films, composed and conducted by Bruce Broughton and James Horner. Mondo Records and Walt Disney Records reissued the original 1998 album on vinyl on September 17, 2021.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: The film features performances of "Hungarian Rhapsody" (Tony Anselmo and Mel Blanc), "Why Don't You Do Right?" (Amy Irving), "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" (Charles Fleischer), and "Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!" (Toon Chorus).


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Michael Eisner, then-CEO, and Roy E. Disney, vice chairman of The Walt Disney Company, felt the film was too risqué with adult themes and sexual references. Eisner and Zemeckis disagreed over various elements of it but since Zemeckis had final cut privilege, he refused to make alterations. Roy E. Disney, head of Feature Animation along with studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, felt it was appropriate to release the film under the studio's adult-orientated Touchstone Pictures banner instead of the flagship Walt Disney Pictures banner.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: The film opened in the United States on June 22, 1988, grossing $11,226,239 in 1,045 theaters during its opening weekend, ranking first place at the US box office. It was Disney's biggest opening weekend ever at the time of its release. It went on to gross $154,112,492 in the United States and Canada and $197,387,508 internationally, coming to a worldwide total of $351,500,000. At the time of release, it was the 20th-highest-grossing film of all time. It was also the second-highest-grossing film of 1988, behind only "Rain Man". In the United Kingdom, the film also set a record opening for a Disney film.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: On March 25, 2003, Buena Vista Home Entertainment released it as a part of the "Vista Series" line in a two-disc collection with many extra features including a documentary, "Behind the Ears: The True Story of Roger Rabbit"; a deleted scene in which a pig's head is "tooned" onto Eddie's; the three Roger Rabbit shorts, "Tummy Trouble", "Roller Coaster Rabbit", and "Trail Mix-Up"; as well as a booklet and interactive games. The only short on the 2003 VHS release was "Tummy Trouble". The 2003 DVD release presents the film in Full Screen (1.33:1) on Disc 1 and Widescreen (1.85:1) on Disc 2.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: On March 12, 2013, the film was released by on Blu-ray and DVD combo pack special edition for the film's 25th anniversary. The film was also digitally restored for the release; frame-by-frame digital restoration was done by Prasad Studios removing dirt, tears, scratches, and other defects. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the film on Ultra HD Blu-ray on December 7, 2021.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" received near-universal acclaim from critics, making "Business Insider"s "best comedy movies of all time, according to critics" list. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of based on reviews, and an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, ""Who Framed Roger Rabbit" is an innovative and entertaining film that features a groundbreaking mix of live action and animation, with a touching and original story to boot." Aggregator Metacritic has calculated a weighted average score of 83 out of 100 based on 15 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" was placed on 43 critics' top ten lists, third to only "The Thin Blue Line" and "Bull Durham" in 1988. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film four stars out of four, predicting it would carry "the type of word of mouth that money can't buy. This movie is not only great entertainment but [also] a breakthrough in craftsmanship." Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" praised the film's "dazzling, jaw-dropping opening four-minute sequence", while noting that the sequence alone took nearly nine months to animate. In reviewing the film, Siskel gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four. Ebert and his colleague Siskel spent a considerable amount of time in the "Siskel & Ebert" episode in which they reviewed the film analyzing its painstaking filmmaking. In evaluating their top ten films of the year, Siskel ranked it number two while Ebert ranked it as number eight. Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" commented that this is "a film whose best moments are so novel, so deliriously funny and so crazily unexpected that they truly must be seen to be believed." Desson Thomson of "The Washington Post" considered "Roger Rabbit" to be "a definitive collaboration of pure talent. Zemeckis had Walt Disney Pictures' enthusiastic backing, producer Steven Spielberg's pull, Warner Bros.'s blessing, Canadian animator Richard Williams' ink and paint, Mel Blanc's voice, Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman's witty, frenetic screenplay, George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic, and Bob Hoskins' comical performance as the burliest, shaggiest private eye." Gene Shalit on the "Today Show" also praised the film, calling it "one of the most extraordinary movies ever made". Filmsite.org called it "a technically-marvelous film" and a "landmark" that resulted from "unprecedented cooperation" between Warner Bros. and Disney. On CNN's 2019 miniseries The Movies, Tom Hanks called it the "most complicated movie ever made."


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Richard Corliss, writing for "Time", gave a mixed review. "The opening cartoon works just fine but too fine. The opening scene upstages the movie that emerges from it," he said. Corliss was mainly annoyed by the homages to the Golden Age of American animation. Chuck Jones made a rather scathing attack on the film in his book "Chuck Jones Conversations". Among his complaints, Jones accused Robert Zemeckis of robbing Richard Williams of any creative input and ruining the piano duel that both Williams and he storyboarded.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: The critical and commercial success of the film rekindled an interest in the Golden Age of American animation, and sparked the modern animation scene, as well as the Disney Renaissance. In November 1988, a few months after the film's release, Roger Rabbit made his guest appearance in the live-action and animated television special broadcast on NBC called "Mickey's 60th Birthday" in which to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Mickey Mouse. In 1991, Walt Disney Imagineering began to develop Mickey's Toontown for Disneyland, based on the Toontown that appeared in the film. The attraction also features a ride called Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spin. Three theatrical animated shorts were also produced: "Tummy Trouble" was shown before "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"; "Roller Coaster Rabbit" was shown before "Dick Tracy"; and "Trail Mix-Up" was shown before "A Far Off Place". The film also inspired a short-lived comic book and video game spin-offs, including two PC games, the Japanese version of "The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle" (which features Roger instead of Bugs), a 1989 game released on the Nintendo Entertainment System, and a 1991 game released on the Game Boy.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: In December 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: The 2022 film "" was created as a spiritual sequel to "Roger Rabbit", though combining several different animation techniques that have come about since "Roger Rabbit". Roger appears in a cameo in the film.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: With the film's LaserDisc release, "Variety" first reported in March 1994 that observers uncovered several scenes of antics from the animators that supposedly featured brief nudity of Jessica Rabbit. While undetectable when played at the usual rate of 24 film frames per second, the LaserDisc player allowed the viewer to advance frame-by-frame to uncover these visuals. Whether or not they were actually intended to depict the nudity of the character remains unknown. Many retailers said that within minutes of the LaserDisc debut, their entire inventory was sold out. The run was fueled by media reports about the controversy, including stories on CNN and various newspapers.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Another frequently debated scene includes one in which Baby Herman extends his middle finger as he passes under a woman's dress and re-emerges with drool on his lip. Also, controversy exists over the scene where Daffy Duck and Donald Duck are playing a piano duel, and during his trademark ranting gibberish, it is claimed that Donald calls Daffy a "goddamn stupid nigger"; however, this is a misinterpretation, with the line from the script being "doggone stubborn little—."


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Gary K. Wolf, author of the novel "Who Censored Roger Rabbit?", filed a lawsuit in 2001 against The Walt Disney Company. He claimed he was owed royalties based on the value of "gross receipts" and merchandising sales. In 2002, the trial court in the case ruled that these only referred to actual cash receipts Disney collected and denied Wolf's claim. In its January 2004 ruling, the California Court of Appeal disagreed, finding that expert testimony introduced by Wolf regarding the customary use of "gross receipts" in the entertainment business could support a broader reading of the term. The ruling vacated the trial court's order in favor of Disney and remanded the case for further proceedings. In a March 2005 hearing, Wolf estimated he was owed $7 million. Disney's attorneys not only disputed the claim but also said Wolf owed Disney $500,000–$1 million because of an accounting error discovered in preparing for the lawsuit. Wolf won the decision in 2005, receiving between $180,000 and $400,000 in damages.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Spielberg discussed a sequel in 1989 with J. J. Abrams as writer and Zemeckis as producer. Abrams's outline was eventually abandoned. Nat Mauldin was hired to write a prequel titled "Roger Rabbit: The Toon Platoon", set in 1941 to 1943. Similar to the previous film, "Toon Platoon" featured many cameo appearances by characters from The Golden Age of American Animation. It began with Roger Rabbit's early years, living on a farm in the midwestern United States. With human Ritchie Davenport, Roger travels west to seek his mother, in the process meeting Jessica Krupnick (his future wife), a struggling Hollywood actress. While Roger and Ritchie are enlisting in the Army, Jessica is kidnapped and forced to make pro-Nazi German broadcasts. Roger and Ritchie must save her by going into Nazi-occupied Europe accompanied by several other Toons in their Army platoon. After their triumph, Roger and Ritchie are given a Hollywood Boulevard parade, and Roger is finally reunited with his mother and father, Bugs Bunny.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Mauldin later retitled his script "Who Discovered Roger Rabbit". Spielberg left the project when deciding he could not satirize Nazis after directing "Schindler's List". Eisner commissioned a rewrite in 1997 with Sherri Stoner and Deanna Oliver. Although they kept Roger's search for his mother, Stoner and Oliver replaced the WWII subplot with Roger's inadvertent rise to stardom on Broadway and Hollywood. Disney was impressed and Alan Menken was hired to write five songs for the film and offered his services as executive producer. One of the songs, "This Only Happens in the Movies", was recorded in 2008 on the debut album of Broadway actress Kerry Butler. Eric Goldberg was set to be the new animation director, and began to redesign Roger's new character appearance.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: Spielberg became busy establishing DreamWorks, while Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy decided to remain as producers. Test footage for "Who Discovered Roger Rabbit" was shot sometime in 1998 at the Disney animation unit in Lake Buena Vista, Florida; the results were a mix of CGI, traditional animation, and live-action that did not please Disney. A second test had the toons completely converted to CGI, but this was dropped as the film's projected budget would escalate past $100 million. Eisner felt it was best to cancel the film. In March 2003, producer Don Hahn was doubtful about a sequel being made, arguing that public tastes had changed since the 1990s with the rise of computer animation. "There was something very special about that time when animation was not as much in the forefront as it is now."


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: In December 2007, Marshall stated that he was still "open" to the idea, and in April 2009, Zemeckis revealed he was still interested. According to a 2009 MTV News story, Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman were writing a new script for the project, and the animated characters would be in traditional two-dimensional, while the rest would be in motion capture. However, in 2010, Zemeckis said that the sequel would remain hand-drawn animated and live-action sequences will be filmed, just like in the original film, but the lighting effects on the cartoon characters and some of the props that the toons handle will be done digitally. Also in 2010, Hahn, who was the film's original associate producer, confirmed the sequel's development in an interview with "Empire". He stated, "Yeah, I couldn't possibly comment. I deny completely, but yeah... if you're a fan, pretty soon you're going to be very, very, very happy." In 2010, Bob Hoskins stated he was interested in the project, reprising his role as Eddie Valiant. However, he retired from acting in 2012 after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease a year earlier, and died from pneumonia in 2014. Marshall confirmed that the film would be a prequel, similar to earlier drafts, and that the writing was almost complete. During an interview at the premiere of "Flight", Zemeckis stated that the sequel was still possible, despite Hoskins' absence, and the script for the sequel was sent to Disney for approval from studio executives.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: In February 2013, Gary K. Wolf, writer of the original novel, said Erik Von Wodtke and he were working on a development proposal for an animated Disney buddy comedy starring Mickey Mouse and Roger Rabbit called "The Stooge", based on the 1952 film of the same name. The proposed film is set in a prequel, taking place five years before "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and part of the story is about how Roger met Jessica. Wolf has stated the film is currently wending its way through Disney.


title: Who Framed Roger Rabbit

text: In November 2016, while promoting his film "Allied" in England, Zemeckis stated that the sequel "moves the story of Roger and Jessica Rabbit into the next few years of period film, moving on from film noir to the world of the 1950s". He also stated that the sequel would feature a "digital Bob Hoskins", as Eddie Valiant would return in "ghost form". While the director went on to state that the script is "terrific" and the film would still use hand-drawn animation, Zemeckis thinks that the chances of Disney green-lighting the sequel are "slim". As he explained more in detail, "The current corporate Disney culture has no interest in Roger, and they certainly don't like Jessica at all". In December 2018, while promoting "Welcome to Marwen", his latest film, and given the 30th anniversary of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", Zemeckis reiterated in an interview with Yahoo! Movies that though the sequel's script is "wonderful", Disney is still unlikely to ever produce it, and he does not see the possibility of producing it as an original film for the streaming service Disney+, as he feels that it does not make any sense as there is no "Princess" in it.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The Marshall Islands (), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands (), is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the International Date Line. Geographically, the country is part of the larger island group of Micronesia. The country's population of 58,413 people (at the 2018 World Bank Census) is spread out over five islands and 29 coral atolls, comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets. The capital and largest city is Majuro. It has the largest portion of its territory composed of water of any sovereign state, at 97.87%. The islands share maritime boundaries with Wake Island to the north, Kiribati to the southeast, Nauru to the south, and Federated States of Micronesia to the west. About 52.3% of Marshall Islanders (27,797 at the 2011 Census) live on Majuro. In 2016, 73.3% of the population were defined as being "urban". The UN also indicates a population density of , and its projected 2020 population is 59,190.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Micronesian settlers reached the Marshall Islands using canoes circa 2nd millennium BC, with interisland navigation made possible using traditional stick charts. They eventually settled there. Islands in the archipelago were first explored by Europeans in the 1520s, starting with Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer in the service of Spain, Juan Sebastián Elcano and Miguel de Saavedra. Spanish explorer Alonso de Salazar reported sighting an atoll in August 1526. Other expeditions by Spanish and English ships followed. The islands derive their name from John Marshall, who visited in 1788. The islands were historically known by the inhabitants as "" (Gifts from God). Spain claimed the islands in 1592, and the European powers recognized its sovereignty over the islands in 1874. They had been part of the Spanish East Indies formally since 1528. Later, Spain sold some of the islands to the German Empire in 1885, and they became part of German New Guinea that year, run by the trading companies doing business in the islands, particularly the Jaluit Company. In World War I, the Empire of Japan occupied the Marshall Islands, which, in 1920, the League of Nations combined with other former German territories to form the South Seas Mandate. During World War II, the United States took control of the islands in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign in 1944. Nuclear testing began on Bikini Atoll in 1946 and concluded in 1958.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The U.S. government formed the Congress of Micronesia in 1965, a plan for increased self-governance of Pacific islands. The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in May 1979 provided independence to the Marshall Islands, whose constitution and president (Amata Kabua) were formally recognized by the US. Full sovereignty or self-government was achieved in a Compact of Free Association with the United States. Marshall Islands has been a member of the Pacific Community (SPC) since 1983 and a United Nations member state since 1991. Politically, the Marshall Islands is a parliamentary republic with an executive presidency in free association with the United States, with the U.S. providing defense, subsidies, and access to U.S.-based agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission and the United States Postal Service. With few natural resources, the islands' wealth is based on a service economy, as well as fishing and agriculture; aid from the United States represents a large percentage of the islands' gross domestic product, but most financial aid from the Compact of Free Association expires in 2023. , negotiations regarding an extension of the aid period were ongoing. The country uses the United States dollar as its currency. In 2018, it also announced plans for a new cryptocurrency to be used as legal tender.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The majority of the citizens of the Republic of Marshall Islands are of Marshallese descent, though there are small numbers of immigrants from the United States, China, Philippines, and other Pacific islands. The two official languages are Marshallese, which is one of the Oceanic languages, and English. Almost the entire population of the islands practices some religion: three-quarters of the country follows either the United Church of Christ – Congregational in the Marshall Islands (UCCCMI) or the Assemblies of God.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Evidence suggests that around 3,000 years ago successive waves of human migrants from Southeast Asia spread across the Western Pacific Ocean, populating its many small islands. The Marshall Islands were settled by Micronesians in the 2nd millennium BC. Little is known of the islands' early history. Marshall Islanders, among the many great Oceanic voyagers, designed stick charts to map ocean swells and navigate between the islands. Present-day seafaring, however, has remained an extension of maritime culture across the archipelago.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The Spanish explorer Alonso de Salazar landed there in 1526, and the archipelago came to be known as ""Los Pintados"" ("The Painted (Ones)", possibly referring to the indigenous people first found there), ""Las Hermanas"" ("The Sisters") and ""Los Jardines"" ("The Gardens") within the Spanish Empire. It first fell within the jurisdiction of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and was then administered by Madrid, through the Captaincy General of the Philippines, upon the independence of Latin America and the dissolution of New Spain starting in 1821.


title: Marshall Islands

text: American whaling ships visited the islands in the 19th century. The first on record was the "Awashonks" in 1835 and last was the "Andrews Hicks" in 1905.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The islands were only formally possessed by Spain for much of their colonial history, and on European maps were grouped with the Caroline Islands which today make up Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia, or alternatively the "Nuevas Filipinas" ("New Philippines"). The islands were mostly left to their own affairs except for short-lived religious missions (documented in 1668 and 1731) during the 16th and 17th centuries. They were largely ignored by European powers except for cartographic demarcation treaties between the Iberian Empires (Portugal and Castilian Spain) in 1529, 1750 and 1777. The archipelago corresponding to the present-day country was independently named by Krusenstern, after British explorer John Marshall, who visited them together with Thomas Gilbert in 1788, en route from Botany Bay to Canton with two ships of the First Fleet, and started to establish German and British trading posts, which were not formally contested by Spain.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The Marshall Islands were formally claimed by Spain in 1874 through its capital in the East Indies, Manila. This marked the start of several strategic moves by the German Empire during the 1870s and 80s to annex them (claiming them to be "by chance unoccupied"). This policy culminated in a tense naval episode in 1885, which did not degenerate into a conflict due to the poor readiness of Spain's naval forces and the unwillingness for open military action from the German side.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Following papal mediation and German compensation of $4.5 million, Spain reached an agreement with Germany in 1885: the 1885 Hispano-German Protocol of Rome. This accord established a protectorate and set up trading stations on the islands of Jaluit (Joló) and Ebon to carry out the flourishing copra (dried coconut meat) trade. Marshallese Iroij (high chiefs) continued to rule under indirect colonial German administration, rendered tacitly effective by the wording in the 1885 Protocol, which demarcated an area subject to Spanish sovereignty (0-11ºN, 133-164ºE) omitting the Eastern Carolines, that is, the Marshall and Gilbert archipelagos, where most of the German trading posts were located. The disputes were rendered moot after the selling of the whole Caroline archipelago to Germany 13 years later.


title: Marshall Islands

text: At the beginning of World War I, Japan assumed control of the Marshall Islands. The Japanese headquarters was established at the German center of administration, Jaluit. On January 31, 1944, American forces landed on Kwajalein atoll and U.S. Marines and Army troops later took control of the islands from the Japanese on February 3, following intense fighting on Kwajalein and Enewetak atolls. In 1947, the United States, as the occupying power, entered into an agreement with the UN Security Council to administer much of Micronesia, including the Marshall Islands, as the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.


title: Marshall Islands

text: From 1946 to 1958, it served as the Pacific Proving Grounds for the United States and was the site of 67 nuclear tests on various atolls. The world's first hydrogen bomb, codenamed "Mike", was tested at the Enewetak atoll in the Marshall Islands on November 1 (local date) in 1952, by the United States.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Nuclear testing began in 1946 on Bikini Atoll after residents were evacuated. Over the years, 67 weapon tests were conducted, including the 15-megaton Castle Bravo hydrogen bomb test, which produced significant fallout in the region. The testing concluded in 1958. Over the years, just one of over 60 islands was cleaned by the U.S. government, and the inhabitants are still waiting for the 2 billion dollars in compensation assessed by the Nuclear Claims Tribunal. Many of the islanders and their descendants still live in exile, as the islands remain contaminated with high levels of radiation.


title: Marshall Islands

text: On May 1, 1979, in recognition of the evolving political status of the Marshall Islands, the United States recognized the constitution of the Marshall Islands and the establishment of the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The constitution incorporates both American and British constitutional concepts.


title: Marshall Islands

text: There have been a number of local and national elections since the Republic of the Marshall Islands was founded. The United Democratic Party, running on a reform platform, won the 1999 parliamentary election, taking control of the presidency and cabinet.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The islands signed a Compact of Free Association with the United States in 1986. Trusteeship was ended under United Nations Security Council Resolution 683 of December 22, 1990. Until 1999 the islanders received US$180M for continued American use of Kwajalein atoll, US$250M in compensation for nuclear testing, and US$600M in other payments under the compact.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Despite the constitution, the government was largely controlled by Iroij. It was not until 1999, following political corruption allegations, that the aristocratic government was overthrown, with Imata Kabua replaced by the commoner Kessai Note.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The Runit Dome was built on Runit Island to deposit U.S.-produced radioactive soil and debris, including lethal amounts of plutonium. There are ongoing concerns about deterioration of the waste site and a potential radioactive spill.


title: Marshall Islands

text: In January 2020, David Kabua, son of founding president Amata Kabua, was elected as the new President of the Marshall Islands. His predecessor Hilda Heine lost the position after a vote.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Since the late 1980s, Marshallese have migrated to the US, with over 4,000 in Arkansas and over 7,000 in Hawaii in the 2010 US Census.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The Marshall Islands sit atop ancient submerged volcanoes rising from the ocean floor, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia, north of Nauru and Kiribati, east of the Federated States of Micronesia, and south of the disputed U.S. territory of Wake Island, to which it also lays claim. The atolls and islands form two groups: the Ratak (sunrise) and the Ralik (sunset). The two island chains lie approximately parallel to one another, running northwest to southeast, comprising about of ocean but only about of land mass. Each includes 15 to 18 islands and atolls. The country consists of a total of 29 atolls and five individual islands situated in about of the Pacific. The largest atoll with a land area of is Kwajalein. It surrounds a lagoon.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Twenty-four of the atolls and islands are inhabited. The remaining atolls are uninhabited due to poor living conditions, lack of rain, or nuclear contamination. The uninhabited atolls are:


title: Marshall Islands

text: In October 2011, the government declared that an area covering nearly of ocean shall be reserved as a shark sanctuary. This is the world's largest shark sanctuary, extending the worldwide ocean area in which sharks are protected from . In protected waters, all shark fishing is banned and all by-catch must be released. However, some have questioned the ability of the Marshall Islands to enforce this zone.


title: Marshall Islands

text: The Marshall Islands also lays claim to Wake Island. While Wake island has been administered by the United States since 1899, the Marshallese government refers to it by the name "Ānen Kio" (new orthography) or "Enen-kio" (old orthography).


title: Marshall Islands

text: The climate has a relatively dry season from December to April and a wet season from May to November. Many Pacific typhoons begin as tropical storms in the Marshall Islands region, and grow stronger as they move west toward the Mariana Islands and the Philippines.


title: Marshall Islands

text: Population has outstripped the supply of fresh water, usually from rainfall. The northern atolls get of rainfall annually; the southern atolls about twice that. The threat of drought is commonplace throughout the island chains.