Liam and Noel Gallagher ‘force BBC to take down “excruciating” celebrity Wonderwall World Cup tribute after failing to seek correct permissions’
The BBC has reportedly removed an online tribute video featuring celebrities performing versions of Oasis's "Wonderwall" as part of a World Cup-themed feature, after Liam and Noel Gallagher objected to it. The brothers are said to have forced the takedown because the broadcaster had not obtained the correct permissions to use the song, with the resulting compilation also being widely mocked as "excruciating" by those who saw it before it was pulled.
Details of exactly which celebrities appeared in the tribute and the precise nature of the permissions dispute were not fully specified in the available report. The episode adds to a string of stories this year involving the reformed Oasis frontmen and their careful management of the band's name, image and music rights following their high-profile reunion.
- BBC pulled a celebrity "Wonderwall" World Cup tribute video.
- Liam and Noel Gallagher objected over missing permissions.
- Video was branded "excruciating" before removal.
New here? Start with this
Oasis reformed in 2024 after a 15-year split marked by a famously bitter feud between brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, and their reunion tour has kept the band firmly in the headlines through 2025 and into 2026. "Wonderwall," released in 1995, is one of the band's best-known songs and a staple of pub singalongs and karaoke, making it a natural choice for broadcasters wanting to reference the group.
The BBC had put together an online video for its World Cup coverage featuring celebrities performing their own versions of the song, but the clip was taken down after objections from the Gallaghers. Since reuniting, Liam and Noel have taken a notably strict approach to how the Oasis name, image and music are used by others, which is the wider context behind this incident.
The row matters because it touches on how much control musicians and rights holders have over their work when it is used by major broadcasters, and it highlights the reputational risk to organisations like the BBC when permissions are not properly secured in advance.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Those sympathetic to the Gallaghers' stance argue that artists retain a legitimate right to control how their music is used, particularly by a major broadcaster with the resources to seek proper clearance in advance. Musicians and their representatives have long argued that correct licensing protects both the commercial value of a work and the creative integrity of the artists who made it, especially amid a high-profile reunion where brand management matters more than usual. On this view, insisting the BBC follow due process is not petty interference but a reasonable assertion of intellectual property rights that any rights holder would be entitled to make.
The case against
Others would argue that a short, good-natured tribute video celebrating a globally loved anthem falls well within the spirit of fair, low-stakes cultural homage, and that reflexively demanding takedown reflects an excessive, overly controlling approach to image management. From this perspective, broadcasters engaging the public with playful, celebratory content serve a genuine public interest, and treating minor licensing lapses as grounds for removal, rather than a quieter licensing correction, risks stifling harmless creative tributes and appears disproportionate to any actual harm caused.