Noel talks about the writing and recording of 'Dead in the Water' at Virgin Radio Italia - November 9, 2017
Hanspeter Kuenzler interview with Noel - January 30, 2015
Noel performed 'Dying of the Light' and 'Dead in the Water' at RTÉ 2FM Studios in Dublin on February 28, 2015.
The Manc - September 3, 2025
It really makes you wonder, especially if you've heard that extended intro audio from the US tour dates. But it is also quite likely that he may have been referring to his keyboard player, Mike Rowe, when he asked if they could pixelate his face out.
I've been thinking 'bout the days when we had no money is quite an interesting line when you consider the fact that Noel and his wife, as far as we know, never had money struggles. But Noel did grew up in a council estate. And guess who else grew up with him in a council estate?
Here he sounds desperate, like he's fighting to keep a rocky relationship alive. But with whom has Noel always had a rocky relationship?
Below are articles from February 2015, which I have included to show that Noel and Liam were on speaking terms by the time 'Dead in the Water' was written. Considering many of the things that Noel and Liam had to say about each other from 2009 up until this point, things were going somewhat well if Noel had had such positive, encouraging statements about Liam.
Additionally, in January 2015, Noel had mentioned in an interview with Q that while a reunion was "always a possibility", he stated that "it would only be for the money."
NME article (via Q) - February 2, 2015
Note: the Q article did not appear in my search results while doing my research for this post, but other articles from December 2014 did appear with Noel speaking about Liam, particularly urging him to pursue a solo career. Liam's band Beady Eye had previously split in October of that year.
NME article - February 4, 2015
But the hatchet would not be buried for long.
So where did it all go wrong?
March 14, 2015 - Liam tweets a photo of himself wearing a NGHFB backstage pass. Many fans assumed that he was in attendance at one of Noel's gigs, but as it turns out, that wasn't the case. On March 19, Noel was interviewed by Rockpalast ahead of his gig in Düsseldorf and he was asked about the tweet. The video is very telling, as he looks quite visibly pissed off.
April 18, 2015 - The Mirror publishes an article in which an unnamed source claimed that Noel and Liam were ready to reform Oasis, stating: “It’s early days in terms of the details, but Noel and Liam are back on good terms and ready to give things another go. Nothing is signed but it’s what you might call a gentlemen’s agreement between them. Ultimately they’re family and whatever has gone on before can be sorted out – they’re very close beneath all the bluster.”
May 5, 2015 - Noel's Rolling Stone interview is published, where he addresses the ongoing rumors of an Oasis reunion, stating: “He’s being a bit disingenuous to Oasis fans in the sense that he always gets their hopes up. There was a rumour last week that we’ve had a gentleman’s agreement [to reform the band], but that rumour’s come from his people. It’s a ‘source close to him’, and I’ll tell you how close it is: She probably wakes up with him every morning. It’s always left to me in an interview to let the kids down. People say, ‘You’re breaking these kids’ hearts.’ Well, what the fuck, man?”
The next day, Liam fires back on Twitter. He likens Noel to Katie Hopkins, a controversial British political commentator.
In conclusion: I believe that between October 2014 and January 2015, Noel and Liam had begun talking again and it looked like they were repairing their relationship—not even to reform Oasis, but to go back to how they were before the 2009 split. By January, judging by the date that he said he wrote the song, things had started to sour again. Noel writes 'Dead in the Water' to cope with their relationship becoming stormy again.
