Oasis' Noel Gallagher washed Man Utd legend's car – and got rewarded with Penguin biscuits - The Mirror

Noel and Liam Gallagher stunned the world this week by announcing Oasis' comeback, but the famous musician has a humble past, which saw him wash a Manchester United star's car

Oasis icon Noel Gallagher may be one of Manchester City's most famous fans, but he once found himself washing a Manchester United legend's car.

Noel, along with his brother Liam, made headlines on Tuesday by announcing that Oasis were to reunite 15 years after the band split up. The Gallaghers are famously two of the mouthiest men in rock and roll. However, according to ex-United forward Brian McClair, Noel didn't even utter a word when, as a young man, he popped round his house.

The songsmith may be one of the UK's most successful, and wealthiest, musicians, but that wasn't always the case. In a far cry from the Champagne Supernova lifestyle Noel later found himself living, McClair revealed that the guitarist and his brother would help out a friend with his car washing service.

Speaking on the Sport Social Network podcast in 2023, the ex-United and Celtic player lifted the lid on the curious tale. He relayed the awkward encounter with Noel and explained just how a future member of rock royalty ended up giving his car a valet – and how he found himself owning a very rare piece of Oasis memorabilia.

According to McClair, Noel became acquainted with the United squad through a man named Paul Ashby, a friend who shared Gallagher's love for Manchester City. Ashby used to wash the City players' cars but then decided to take his business to the red half of the city.

After approaching Sir Alex Ferguson at United's old Cliff training ground, with Paul offering to clean the Red Devils players' vehicles too, he found himself needing a hand. Shortly after building a rapport with the United squad, Paul began to invite the players to his home to get their cars cleaned, and it's there where Liam and Noel began helping him with the valeting service.

McClair told the story of how Noel arrived at his house one day to assist with the cleaning. However to McClair's astonishment, the usually vocal Oasis and High-Flying Birds star barley uttered a single word.

McClair said: "Noel came to the house one day to clean the car and he never said a f***ing word." The show's host was shocked and interjected: "That's not like him is it?" Which prompted McClair to respond: "Not a thing, that's what I'm saying."

Despite Noel's silence, he did accept McClair's wife's offer of coffee and chocolate biscuits. McClair added: "Then the missus made him a coffee, and brought out some chocolate biscuits." That included Penguins and a few other household favourites such as Gold Bars and Blue Ribbands.

Some might say Noel was underpaid – but he didn't seem to mind as McClair recalls him being polite while he was at his house. However, he recalled that sharing his gratitude was the only time Noel opened his mouth. The 60-year-old said: "He said thanks for that but that's all he said in the 45 mins to an hour period he was there."

In an amazing twist, McClair revealed he received a priceless nice parting gift – an early Oasis demo tape that he still has to this day. The former Scotland international also recalls how he was impressed with what he heard, adding: "Paul gave me a demo of Oasis, and I said to him, 'ah it's pretty good that'. I've still got it, it's a copy of the original of them doing their early songs."

McClair enjoyed a trophy-laden spell with Motherwell, Celtic and United. He scored 202 goals in that time and retired from the game in 1999.

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.