THE last time Noel Gallagher performed in Edinburgh, he was helping to see in 2008 with his pals from Kasabian at the Princes Street Gardens Hogmanay celebrations.
But when the bushy eyebrowed songsmith returns to the Capital next week, he will have his equally bushy eyebrowed younger brother Liam in tow.
The rest of the Oasis line-up may have changed a few times since they first hit the big time back in 19
94, but the Mancunian siblings are a permanent fixture.
Neither of the brothers gives too many interviews these days but, when they do, journalists can always expect a healthy dose of forthright opinions and colourful language.
Noel has recently labelled Britain "embarrassing" for the country's obsession with celebrity, taking particular exception to the amount of news coverage devoted to the late Jade Goody.
"You might as well shut No 10 Downing Street down and get Max Clifford to run the country," said the 42-year-old guitarist, a man who has himself been the subject of countless tabloid tales over the past 15 years.
Whether he was saying he hoped Blur's Damon Albarn died of Aids or if he was claiming that Oasis were "bigger than God", journalists were guaranteed the most colourful of copy.
In August 1996, Oasis played two enormous outdoor concerts at Knebworth, Hertfordshire, captivating a combined total of 250,000 fans with hits such as Live Forever, Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger.
It was a spectacular peak in popularity and, earlier this year, former guitarist Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs claimed that the band should have ended on a high.
"I always thought we should have bowed out at Knebworth," he said. "Walking out on that stage is a feeling I can't explain: a sea of people. Big!"
Explaining why he chose to leave the band in 1999, he added, "It was the best job in the world but by the time we recorded Standing On The Shoulder of Giants (in 1999) it wasn't enjoyable.
"My daughter was two days old and I was jumping on a flight. We'd made our money. We had big cars. We were renting out Christian Dior's mansion in France. That should have been fun, but it wasn't."
But despite the departure of Bonehead and then bassist Paul McGuigan, the Gallaghers continued, enjoying a resurgence of popularity in 2005 with the release of their sixth album, Don't Believe The Truth.
Now a father of two, Noel has put his well-publicised addiction problems behind him, but has no regrets about living the rock 'n' roll lifestyle to the full.
"There's a magic period when you're in a band," he said, "and you don't even f***ing notice it till it's gone, and that's when you are the same age as your audience, and in the same circumstances, ie, they've got no money, you've got no money.
" Two years down the line, you're rich. You're still roughly the same age, but they're still normal, everyday people, coming to the gigs, and you're a superstar who flies on private jets, hangs out with supermodels, you've got a big bag of drugs with you."
He added, "You start off being a kid in an Adidas top and you end being this guy in a fur jacket and two pairs of f***ing sunglasses. Which, let me tell you, is amazing. Those times were incredible. I wouldn't want to go back to them for all the tea in China. That would be a joke.
"But I'm glad I lived through all that madness, all the fur coats and the crocodile-skin shoes and the drugs and the women. We made it look like what it is: the best job in the world."
They may be older, wiser and with less propensity for raising hell these days, but fans at Murrayfield should be in no doubt that Oasis are still the ultimate rock and roll stars.
