Exploring Liam and Noel's Manchester, from the council house the Gallaghers grew up in to the first pubs Oasis played - and their beloved Man City

The Gallaghers breathe rarefied air these days, with Noel residing in a £11.5million Victorian mansion in Maida Vale, and Liam shacked up in a luxury pad on five acres in the Cotswolds...but make no mistake, the brothers' fingerprints are still all over Manchester.

From the dingy rehearsal rooms where tracks for Definitely Maybe were honed to the Burnage record shop where Noel bought his first albums, the Oasis story is everywhere in the capital of the North.  

And some marks the aspiring rock gods left behind were physical.  

Joe Feeley, a former schoolmate of Liam and now a Manchester tour guide, tells me how one chap who went to war with Noel as a teenager still has a souvenir he didn't ask for.

He explains: 'In Eerwood Park in Burnage, where the Gallaghers grew up, there used to be a funfair there. One day, Noel got into an altercation with a lad – and punched him straight in the face and gave him a black tooth. 

'Later, the lad was walking around Burnage saying: "I'm so annoyed because every time I turn on the telly, I keep seeing the guy who did it – and he's now massively famous".' 

A street mural by Pic.One.Art, painted on the side of Sifters Records in Burnage, where the Gallagher brothers grew up

Sifters Records in Burnage got a lyric in 1994 track Shakermaker – after Noel Gallagher used to buy albums there as a teenager 

Joe Feeley, pictured wearing the yellow bucket hat, went to school with Liam Gallagher and now runs 'Rock and Goal' walking tours around Manchester

Feeley, who also grew up in Burnage, a short ten-minute train ride south of the city centre, has carved out a career sharing such anecdotes on his walking tours. 

Fans from all over the world spend a couple of hours – or more if Feeley really gets chatting – walking around the city's major music landmarks, seeing giant cultural murals painted on Manchester brick and learning about the record company offices where major deals were inked.

The one place even die-hard fans shouldn't go for more than a fleeting glance though? 

The house where the Gallaghers grew up, and where their mum Peggy, who raised them and older brother Paul as a single parent, has lived for more than 50 years. 

You don't need to anyway. There are so many other, less intrusive, Oasis haunts to hang around. 

Since the Gallagher brothers finally ended their sibling feud – after 16 years of silence that effectively put Oasis six feet under – and got back on the road, interest in the band has boomed. 

Following their sold-out initial reunion tour last summer, Oasis will tour again next year, including an 11-night residency at Etihad Stadium in June, home of their beloved Manchester City.  

The Gallaghers, pictured from left to right – Noel, Paul, Liam and mum Peggy, grew up in a council house in Burnage. Peggy, now 83, still lives there

Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys got their big break in Manchester, after playing to small crowds in The Thirsty Scholar, now O'Connells Irish bar  

Exploring the city on foot means you see not only the city's musical map but memorials to those who made a life in the city, including Engima codebreaker Alan Turing

Feeley once shared a classroom with the young Liam and says the Oasis frontman's infamous aggro image was nowhere to be seen.  

'I was the year above Liam but he asked to come into my art class, with a teacher called Mrs Proudfoot, because he had friends in our year. 

'She told him "As long as there's no trouble, you can come in". He sat on the next table and behaved well. He was a real character, very popular, sociable and good at football.'

Playing drums in a band with Oasis original member Tony McCarroll's brother meant the band were part of Feeley's world before their big break. 

Does it blow his mind how far they've gone? Not quite... but he admits it makes for a great story. 

'They used to play in a pub right near my house where I grew up. To see them there and then at Heaton Park in Manchester - and Liam playing Knebworth and then the brothers falling out and getting back together. It's quite an amazing story, isn't it?'  

While few Britpop bands shouted louder than Oasis did, they are, of course, just one story woven into Manchester's extraordinarily rich musical tapestry. 

The north-west city is England's Nashville, a metropolis that has major music heritage references on every street corner. There's the bar, now O'Connells but once The Thirsty Scholar, where the Arctic Monkeys played to their smallest crowds. 

ROUND OUR WAY: OASIS' CHILDHOOD LANDMARKS

SIFTERS RECORDS: This second-hand record store on Fog Lane in Didsbury got a namecheck in the track Shakermaker from the band's debut Definitely Maybe, with Noel writing: 'Mr Sifter sold me songs when I was just 16.' 

The original owner, Peter Howard, has run the shop in Burnage, where the Gallaghers grew up since 1977, sifters-records-manchester.co.uk 

THE VICTORIA INN: Known as 'The Vic', this Burnage pub still sees members of the wider Gallagher family propping up the bar, victoriainnburnage.co.uk 

EERWOOD PARK: Also known as Cringle Park, this Burnage green space gets a mention in the 1995 Oasis track Round Our Way, with the lyrics: 'The game is kicking off in around the park. It's twenty five-as-side and before it's dark, there's gonna be a loser.' 

Around the corner, there's The Peveril of the Peak, the characterful Grade II-listed former brothel turned pub which has an ornate chartreuse green ceramic tiled exterior. 

The Gallaghers posed for a 1994 photoshoot here – and exuberant ex French footballer Eric Cantona was a regular while playing for Manchester United, with actor Steve Coogan still spotted chatting to locals when he's in town. 

In the trendy Northern Quarter, the Whiskey Jar, on Tariff Street, has seen everyone from The Smiths to The Stone Roses and 808 State rehearse. 

Flats now occupy the site of what was once the most famous nightclub in England, the Hacienda. 

A simple potted history runs along the side of the building, detailing some of the bands who played there. It's a who's who of music, from Simple Minds to the Happy Mondays and Primal Scream. Madonna played her first British show there in 1984.  

However you feel about Manchester City football club right now, if you're genuinely on an Oasis pilgrimage, the club's Etihad stadium has to be on your map. 

Four tram stops (and a £2.80 fare) from Manchester's Piccadilly Station brings you to the Sky Blues' doorstep.  

Medlock Square, a £300million entertainment district tacked onto the stadium where the biggest football story of the decade is currently, painfully, playing out, has just opened its first attractions.  

Manchester City is under scrutiny, but if you love Oasis then the Ethiad Stadium, where a museum dedicated to the club is opening soon, should be on your Manchester bucket list

Noel Gallagher pictured at the stadium this month. The Oasis star clearly showing his support for the club that's currently enduring a storm of controversy

Italian Japanese restaurance Zadie's is one of the first new openings as part of the £300million Medlock Square development at Manchester City's Ethiad Stadium

Radisson Blu hotel, The Medlock, has 401 rooms, a two-storey penthouse and Three Rivers, an all-day dining restaurant. 

It's a cool, atmospheric retreat that feels more bougie New York than Manchester football ground – although that probably isn't quite the case on match-days. 

Travel facts 

Rooms at The Medlock from £129, medlocksquare.com

Oasis and Manchester walking tours via Joe Feeley's Rock and Goal from £15pp, rockandgoalmanchester.com 

Tickets for the Museum of Illusions from £25.50 for adults and £21.50 for children aged 5 to 14, moimanchester.com 

Avanti West Coast services from London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly from £14 when booked in advance, trainline.com

Mamma Mia! The Party, an immersive dining and theatre experience dedicated to ABBA is slated to open before the end of 2027 too. 

Co-Op Live, the UK's biggest indoor venue with a capacity of 23,500 – Professor Brian Cox and the Pussycat Dolls have both played there this month – is just a short walk away. 

For anyone wanting to swerve a crowded commute out of the city after a concert, it feels like the perfect solution. 

The flagship restaurant at Medlock Square is Zadie's, a statement Italian-Japanese bar and restaurant that's incredibly close to the Manchester City turf.

Like any city, Manchester isn't perfect but it has evolved into an enticing weekend playground for city breakers; there's top-notch shopping, dining of every ilk and attractions galore.   

We spend the afternoon at the Museum of Illusions, creating mind-boggling images and experiencing a raft of optical illusions with a knowledgeable guide. 

'When I was growing up, it felt like there weren't many family-friendly attractions,' she tells us. 'There's absolutely loads now.' 

Alongside buckets of things to do (and buckets of rain), there's also buckets of charm. 

When the wi-fi code for our hotel, The Medlock, doesn't work, I trudge back down to reception and explain that I've tried the code – 'hello darling' – every which way and it still won't play ball. 

The staff member quickly clarifies: 'Oh, it's not "hello darling', it's just 'hello'...I just add 'darling' on to the end of everything. Sorry!'