In his book, Bothers, elder sibling Paul perceptively suggested that Liam's general appeal might stem from something even more intensely experienced within the Gallagher family.

"I think Noel sees restraints in everything," writes Paul. "In life, relationships, places and times. That's what we both secretly admire Liam for; there's a wildness about him, a sense of freedom. It's like he expresses how Noel and I felt inside and if sometimes Liam can't quite keep alid o his dissatisfaction, he's probably healthier than the two of us because of it."

In other words, Mad For It. It makes a whole heap of the band. And everything that goes wrong for Oasis is convolutedly traced to her and her evil intentions. Absolute bullocks, of course. In fact, meeting Pasty has been the best thing that's happened to Liam since the band started. While she's often perceived as being cold, distant and perhaps rather too demure for frue party animal status, in reality she can go for it with the best of them. Indeed they first swapped phone numbers after a particularly wild night out in Manchester.

Nevertheless, she's also brought an element of stability and responsibitity to Liam's life, something that he may not always have been able to handle too easily, but certainly not for the want of trying. While their spats get all the publicity, the fact that their relationship has endured for so long has been down to the time they spend together that no one sees. Not even those close to the couple. Sure, they fight, but she gives as good as she gets and the bottom line is that they are both genuinely in love with each other.

The past few months have seen a great strain put not only on their relationship, but on the future of the group itself. It all seemed so bright back in the summer as the band played a triumphant weekedn at Knebworth, but in retrospect, such was the scale of the success, trouble was always going to ensue.

The prospect then of an American tour kicking off another six months of global wandering ws something that none of the band were exactly gagging for. Liam baled out at the last minute, genuinely claiming that he had to find a house for when he got back, but also less then thrilled at the prospect of an American tour. The American industry, controlled largely by corporate dolts, is happier with its dumb, home-grown talent than any boat-rocking British invasion. At the MTV awards in New York, the band were bored, frustrated and abusive. It may not have been big or clever, but at least it showed a certian uncontainable spirit, a marked contrast to the rest of the polite, blank acts on show.

A couple of days later I witnessed the band playing at Jones Beach, Long Island to an audience less than thrilled by a performance that, atfer Knebworth even the band seemed to treat as something of an anti-climax. There ws a general air of tiredness, a lack of spring in their step. It ws no surprise when they caome home a few days later, althought it must be noted that Liam did initially want to stay. Like the others, he maintains an intense loyalty to the fans even if he thinks the industry ifself sucks.

Ony Noel and Liam know what happened to finally convince them to come home and indefinitely cancel their touring plans. And neither of them are telling. What is clear is that they were aware that carrying on with their touring could have completely torn the band apart. Better perhaps to take a break and work on the third album, due for release sometime later this year. Demos suggest that it will be their best year yet, a return to a fierce rock sound and a revitalising force for their future.

So where does this leave Liam?

He's still, in the eyes of the tabloids, a cartoon bad boy, his problems exacerbated by his recent run-in with the law for alleged drug possession, an esisode that many feel may have been engineered by the tabloids themselves. Nevertheless, it was something he could have done without in a year of wildly fluctuating fortune. No one is going to expect Liam Gallagher's personality to radically alter overnight, indeed it's exactly who and what he is that makes Oasis so extraordinary, but there are signs of a grow- ing maturity, a determined attempt to take a step back from all the mayhem. He and Patsy stay at home, play with her kid, just chill out. It's been a wobbly path, but he finally seems to be enjoing his universe of possibilities. And of course there's still time for fun. At the QAwards, he went up on stage to collect yet another of the many prizes the band have been awarded during the past 12 months. He passed a table occupied by Mick Jagger, bad boy of yore and a blueprint for much of Liam's own behaviour. Swaggering by, without pausing, Liam non- chalantly flicked the ask from his ciggarette on to Jagger's head. The Dick With The Beard done good. And we need him more more than ever.

Paul Mathur's biography of Oasis, Take Me There, is published by Bloomsbury, 12.99 pounds sterling.