The best celebrity Twitter fights in rock

16 July 2023, 18:00 | Updated: 15 July 2024, 12:35

Ever made a fool of yourself on Twitter, or said something you shouldn't have? Don't fret - the stars do it too.

Twitter went live to the public on 15th July 2006 and it's safe to say a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since Stephen Fry got stuck in a lift and social media began in earnest.

Since then, it has become the number one method to air grievances among celebrities. From the occasional brutal smackdown to the ongoing social media drama that is Liam Vs Noel, here are Radio X’s favourite Twitter beefs.

1. Lewis Capaldi Versus Noel Gallagher

   Lewis Capaldi is obviously a hero, as he proved at Glastonbury recently, but he wasn't always everyone's favourite. The Scottish singer-songwriter was surprised and delighted when Noel Gallagher told Radio X in 2019: Who's this Lewis Capaldi fella? Who the fuck's that idiot?" Capaldi posted: “What a day. It's Father's Day and I'm getting slagged off by a man who's old enough to be my da'. I’ve never been more happy.”

   .@LewisCapaldi you big daftie.
   You might wanna try and find some joy in your tunes you're destroying the youth..my 11yr old is in bits. pic.twitter.com/YBnZlVKSfU

   — Noel Gallagher (@NoelGallagher) June 17, 2019

   Noel retorted by posting a video of his son Donovan apparently “crying” to Capaldi’s hit Someone You Loved, adding “You might wanna try finding some joy in your tunes”. All of this was water off a duck’s back to young Lewis, even when the former Oasis star compared the lad unfavourably to celebrity Wookee Chewbacca - Lewis just changed his Twitter handle to “Chewis Capaldi” and updated his profile pic accordingly.

   #NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/FRIGBfn0fS

   — Chewis Capaldi (@LewisCapaldi) July 11, 2019

2. Liam Versus Noel Gallagher

   The ongoing entertainment that is Liam Gallagher's official Twitter account is the scene of much mud-slinging in the direction of his elder brother, his music and the Oasis legacy. 2019 has seen the animosity ramped up a notch, causing Liam to at one point to - gasp! - apologise. Well, to his mum, at least. But despite the mounting evidence that Oasis ain’t getting back together any time soon, one tweet has endured over the weeks, months and years for its sheer brazen randomness: “POTATO”.

   POTATO pic.twitter.com/yPPwh3BwNx

   — Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) July 9, 2016

3. Van McCann Versus One Direction

   At the end of 2014 Van McCann and his band Catfish & The Bottlemen were going from strength to strength. Everyone was tuning in to the Welsh rockers; even Louis from 1D. Van McCann replied in his usual style: “Genuinely made up you like it but we're here to do us best to get u lids out charts & bands in. I promised Ma a jacuzzi see.” Ouch.

   @Louis_Tomlinson Genuinely made up you like it but we're here to do us best to get u lids out charts & bands in. I promised Ma a jacuzzi see

   — Catfish&theBottlemen (@thebottlemen) December 19, 2014

4. Noel Gallagher Versus Ed Sheeran

   After it was announced that Ed Sheeran had sold out three Wembley Stadium shows, the former Oasis guitarist told NME that he "couldn't live in a world" where that kind of thing could happen. Ed took to Twitter to respond and proceeded to text Noel offering him two tickets to one of the shows. The pair soon buried the hatchet though, with Gallagher asking Sheeran to play a Teenage Cancer Trust show later in the year.

   @IndyMusic i can live in it, its really enjoyable

   — Ed Sheeran (@edsheeran) January 13, 2015

5. Johnny Marr Versus David Cameron

   In 2010, former Prime Minister David Cameron announced that he liked The Smiths, prompting Marr to tweet the following… But Dave has refused to acknowledge the "ban" and presumably still throws on Hatful Of Hollow of an afternoon, now he's at a loose end.

   David Cameron, stop saying that you like The Smiths, no you don't. I forbid you to like it.

   — Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) December 2, 2010

6. Gareth Gates Versus Young Fathers

   During the Glastonbury Festival TV coverage Pop Idol runner up Gareth Gates tweeted his outrage at Young Fathers' performance. What enraged him so about the Scottish band? We're not sure, but he was clearly very "offended." Did Young Fathers bite back? Of course they didn't.

   Watching Glastonbury... Bands like 'Young Fathers' offend me. Is this talent? Is this musicianship? No. It's shit.

   — Gareth Gates (@Gareth_Gates) June 27, 2015

7. James Blunt Versus The World

   For reasons that have become unclear in the mists of time, You’re Beautiful hitmaker James Blunt has become some kind of hate figure in the music world. So much so that he’s turned his Twitter into an absolute banterfest of slapdowns, retorts and ripostes to people who slag him off. Blunt's timeline is littered with "This tweet is unavailable" messages as posts get deleted when they're comprehensively owned by the musician, but here are some that have been saved for posterity:

   I don’t really like you either, but I’m glad you like the song. https://t.co/MdKPqmt0zz

   — James Blunt (@JamesBlunt) October 25, 2017

   Because I can’t find any. https://t.co/ax82ZAVAvo

   — James Blunt (@JamesBlunt) November 18, 2018

   No. Just noise. https://t.co/zl5U2GWyn9

   — James Blunt (@JamesBlunt) July 11, 2018

   But DO NOT CROSS THE BLUNT - as this fake account found out. Remember, this guy used to be a soldier.

   Hey Fake @JamesBlunt_1, this is Real @JamesBlunt. You can take your low grasp of the English language, and your fake Merry Christmas🎄to my followers and ram it up your fake ticket-selling arse for free. @Twitter. https://t.co/2C0HT9XZ6Z

   — James Blunt (@JamesBlunt) December 23, 2018