Noel Gallagher has been named the BRIT Awards’ 2026 songwriter of the year in recognition of Oasis’ recent blockbuster reunion tour.
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The announcement dovetails with the ceremony moving to Manchester, where Noel and younger brother Liam were born and raised, and where Oasis formed in 1991. Noel will attend the ceremony and collect the award in person at the Co-op Live Arena on Feb. 28.
The award is judged by an expert panel, with recent winners including Ed Sheeran (2022), Kid Harpoon (2023), RAYE (2024) and Charli xcx (2025).
The prize marks the first BRIT Award either Gallagher has won for 16 years. In 2010 the group was awarded the British album of 30 year prize for 1995’s (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? The award was collected by Liam, who promptly threw the award and his microphone into the audience and walked off stage; host Peter Kay subsequently called him a “knobhead” later in the broadcast.
The group’s history with the awards has been illustrious, however. Oasis won its first in 1995 for British breakthrough, and won a further three at 1996’s raucous ceremony that arrived at the height of Britpop, and where the band went toe-to-toe with rival Blur. In 2007, Oasis collected the outstanding contribution to music prize, its final BRIT Award before the band split in 2009.
In 2015, Noel claimed to the BBC that the awards were “rigged” and said it was “a bit of a carve-up between the majors.” He added, “Don’t let this put you off giving me a table. I like award ceremonies and all that social scene — it’s a good laugh.” The BRITs denied his claims at the time.
The recognition comes after Oasis’ Live ‘25 reunion tour, which saw Noel and Liam reunite for the first time since 2009. The shows took place in the U.K. and Ireland, North America, Latin America and East Asia, and saw the band’s back catalogue return to the summit of the U.K. Charts. Noel is credited as the sole songwriter on the band’s first three albums (Definitely Maybe, 1994; Morning Glory, 1995; and Be Here Now, 1997) which made up the vast majority of the group’s setlist on tour.
The nominations for the BRIT Awards were shared in late January, with Olivia Dean and Lola Young leading the pack with five nods each. Sam Fender scored four nominations, with Dave, Jim Legaxcy, Wolf Alice, Fred again.. and Lily Allen bagging three each. Dean and Wolf Alice are set to perform on the night alongside a live comeback from Harry Styles.
