Acrimony, insults, brotherly duality and spousal attrition all played a part in the estrangement, but as long as Liam and Noel Gallagher remained compos mentis, there was always the possibility of a professional rapprochement. The same remains true of Pink Floyd, The Smiths and the Sex Pistols, although with the Gallagher brothers the assumption was that a reunion was always going to be about the cash. Which is why their long-term promoters SJM and Live Nation knew that if they kept putting moolah on the mahogany, they would eventually get their way. They have. The negotiations started simply and effectively. Noel and Liam were told they could keep most of the money, allowing the promoters to pick up their percentages around the edges. There is so much money involved — one industry insider says that “this is bigger than anyone expected, it’s huge, globally huge” — that those percentages will be worth their weight in gold. The scale of the deal is enormous, and if things go according to plan — and Liam and Noel can keep their hands off each other and their mouths in check — the reunion tour will extend to the rest of the world for sure. This is truly a global comeback, with global remuneration. This tour could easily generate half a billion dollars before anyone has really started doing the maths.
