BRIT Awards 2026: Bobby Gillespie pays tribute to Noel Gallagher: “He’s written songs that defined his generation”
"His songs resonate with people deep into their hearts and souls"
Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie has paid tribute to Noel Gallagher at this year’s BRIT Awards, before presenting him with the award for Songwriter of the Year.
The musician spoke about the first time he met Gallagher in 1993 at a party at Creation Records founder Alan McGee’s flat.
He described Gallagher as a “charismatic and charming working class man” and says he was struck with the “quiet confidence and humility” of Gallagher. He went on to describe how he “has written songs that defined his generation and soundtracked the 1990s and beyond.”
He continued: “His songs resonate with people deep into their hearts and souls, rock n’ roll anthems to be sung in a loud voice with your mates like you would at a football match.”
Accepting the award, Gallagher said: “I’ve got to thank my brother”, before also paying tribute to and the rest of Oasis and former members over the years.
He added: “I would like to thank you the people who’ve kept those songs alive for the last 35 years. Without you…you’ve given us the most extraordinary life and thanks very much for that.”
Earlier on the red carpet, Anais and Gene Gallagher spoke to Rolling Stone and reflected on Noel’s win. You can watch the video here:
Olivia Dean, Lola Young and Sam Fender led the list of nominees for tonight’s show. When broken down, nearly 70 per cent of the nominations feature women and non-binary people – the highest representation in both categories to ever feature at the ceremony. See the full list of winners as they’re announced here.
Other performances on the night came from Olivia Dean, Rosalia – who brought out Björk – Wolf Alice – who won best group – Alex Warren, Sombr, while Robbie Williams fronted a special Ozzy Osbourne tribute, closing the show with ‘No More Tears’.