Getty ImagesLiam Gallagher isn’t Liam Gallagher’s real name and his fans can’t handle it.
We’re used to rockstars changing their names from the mundane to something outrageous like Marilyn Manson (Brian Hugh Warner), Meat Loaf (Marvin Lee Aday), Alice Cooper (Vincent Damon Furnier).
But Liam isn’t exactly a stunning stage name.
Getty ImagesThat’s not to insult any Liams out there, not least because my editor is called Liam. Indeed Liam is the most popular boys name in Canada at the moment and the second most popular boys name in America.
The name peaked in popularity in Gallagher’s native UK in 1996, around the time when Oasis were going their most mental in the press. Possibly a coincidence.
Getty ImagesHowever, Liam is not Liam Gallagher’s actual name, he was named William John Paul Gallagher.
Liam comes from the end of William, which is a traditional shortening in Ireland, where the Gallaghers’ parents are from.
His full name is.
William John Paul Gallagher.
He has 2/4 Beatles members in his name. He idolised Lennon.— Player One (@PlayerOneYT) September 23, 2017
It’s only a small change in the grand scheme of things but ‘William’ definitely has different connotations to ‘Liam’, possibly because we’ve had four Kings called William and currently have a future king called William.
So far zero royalty called Liam. Almost certainly because it was rarely used outside of Ireland.
Kings and rock bands who hail from council estates don’t really fit in the same box.
Regardless, the name change has left fans baffled:
So @liamgallagher’s name is William Gallagher and that’s fucked my whole mind up. Nah I’m not having this like laa ?
— jf (@JanetFalloon) September 23, 2017
William Gallagher, slightly less rock and roll #oasis #LiamGallagher #ididnotknowthat pic.twitter.com/VLi81906Ff
— Jase (@Carterjase) September 23, 2017
Although, one eagle-eyed fan did notice that his full name does almost dictate his future rise to king of frontmen:
Since fucking when is Liam Gallagher’s name William?? ‘As you were WG x’ doesn’t have the same ring really
— eleanor☽ (@NealeEleanor) September 23, 2017
If you’re an Oasis fan and want to learn more about the band you should check out the upcoming documentary about the band:
[ooyala code=”dpMWxlYjE6A47ZOeCZEMBSvKohhK5vE1″ player_id=”5df2ff5a35d24237905833bd032cd5d8″ auto=”true” width=”1280″ height=”720″ pcode=”twa2oyOnjiGwU8-cvdRQbrVTiR2l”]
There’s also a just a two-week wait for Liam Gallagher’s first ever solo-album ‘As You Were’ which drops October 6.
A great time to be a Gallagher fan.
