Excitement mounts as the Oasis reunion tour prepares to kick off in Cardiff
The return of the Britpop-era rockers after a 16-year hiatus is a major moment for fans. Will it be a storming success? Definitely maybe.
Predictions are tricky when it comes to Noel and Liam Gallagher, the sparring siblings who give Oasis its charisma, and its volatile chemistry.
'That's one of the attractions about Oasis — they bring this element of risk,' said author and music journalist John Aizlewood. He said the 'alternative aura that they have cultivated with the age-old pop story of fractious brothers' is part of the band's appeal.
Unless the brothers' combustible relationship derails proceedings, two nights at Cardiff's 70,000-capacity Principality Stadium on Friday and Saturday raise the curtain on a 19-date Live '25 tour in the U.K. and Ireland. Then come stops in North America, South America, Asia and Australia, ending in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Nov. 23.
Founded in the working-class streets of Manchester in 1991, Oasis released its debut album, 'Definitely Maybe,' in 1994 and became one of the dominant British acts of the 1990s, releasing eight U.K. No. 1 albums and producing hits including 'Wonderwall,' 'Champagne Supernova,' 'Roll With It' and 'Don't Look Back in Anger.'
The band's sound was fueled by singalong rock choruses and the combustible chemistry between guitarist-songwriter Noel Gallagher — a Beatles and glam rock-loving musician with a knack for memorable tunes — and younger brother Liam, a frontman of compelling swagger and style.
Then and since, the brothers have often traded barbs — onstage, in the studio and in interviews. Liam once called Noel 'tofu boy,' while Noel branded his brother 'the angriest man you'll ever meet. He's like a man with a fork in a world of soup.'
Oasis finally split in 2009, with Noel Gallagher quitting the band after a backstage dustup with Liam at a festival near Paris.
The Gallagher brothers, now aged 58 and 52, haven't performed together since, though both regularly play Oasis songs at their solo gigs.
They long resisted pressure to reunite, even with the promise of a multimillion-dollar payday — though Liam sounded more open to the idea. The singer told the Associated Press in 2019 that Noel 'thinks I'm desperate to get the band back together for money. But I didn't join the band to make money. I joined the band to have fun and to see the world.'
Now they have agreed on a tour that will see them joined — if reports are right — by former Oasis members Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs and Gem Archer on guitars, bassist Andy Bell and drummer Joey Waronker.
The announcement of the U.K. tour in August sparked a ticket-buying frenzy, complete with error messages, hours-long online queues, dashed hopes and anger at prices that surged at the last minute. Some fans who waited online for hours at the Ticketmaster site complained that they ended up paying 355 pounds ($485) for regular standing tickets instead of the expected 148 pounds ($202).
The ticketing troubles sparked questions in Britain's Parliament, where Arts Minister Chris Bryant criticized 'practices that see fans of live events blindsided by price hikes.' Britain's competition regulator has since threatened Ticketmaster — which sold some 900,000 Oasis tickets — with legal action.
Tickets for the U.K. shows sold out in hours, with some soon offered on resale websites for as much as 6,000 pounds ($7,800). That suggests major pent-up demand, both from the original fans — a male-dominated cohort now well into middle age — and from a younger generation.
No plans have been announced for Oasis to record any new music, and the tour is being presented as a one-off.
Aizlewood said it's an opportunity for Oasis to 'tend the legacy' of the band, and remind people of the power of the Oasis brand.
'There should be a sense of huge joy and life affirmation about these shows. And I think if they can just play it right, then that can be a massive burnishing of their legacy,' he said.
'(There is) this enduring love for Oasis — and love means money.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
🙏 Oasis pay tribute to Diogo Jota during concert
Oasis paid an exciting tribute to Diogo Jota, Liverpool striker, during a show in Cardiff, Wales, on Friday (4). It was the band's first performance on their new tour. The Gallagher brothers hadn't played together since 2009 and their "reunion" in 2025 was highly anticipated by the music world. Advertisement The tribute to Jota took place during the song "Live Forever" - one of the band's biggest hits. Check it out! It's worth noting that both Noel and Liam Gallagher are huge fans of Manchester City, Liverpool's rival in the Premier League. Jota, 28, and his brother André Silva, 26, lost their lives in a tragic car accident in the early hours of Thursday morning. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Oasis Reunites, Its Songs Still Stomping and Wounds Still Healing
It was a few songs into Oasis's first concert in 16 years and — despite the heavy anticipation, the rabid fan attention, the relief of simply seeing the Gallagher brothers walk onstage together, Liam's left arm draped over Noel's shoulder — there was something still tentative in the air at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on Friday night. A crowd of 62,000 fans was vibrating, and cheering and singing along, but still waiting for license to rage. Liam, the band's frontman and the punchier of the two brothers — Noel, the songwriter and guitarist, is far more dour — seemed to sense the dryness. Turn around, he told the audience. Find someone and throw your arms around them. Hold them tight, he said. Then the band finally located its detonator. That was 'Cigarettes & Alcohol,' from its mighty, snarling 1994 debut album, 'Definitely Maybe.' The guitars started at maximum sleaze, and Liam began singing the lyrics — about all the fun ways to tune out when life gets boring — with real brio. The crowd, especially down on the stadium floor, began ecstatically hopping in place in little rugby scrums, then erupted out of them as the band peaked at the chorus. Finally, everyone had shaken off their nerves. For around two hours, Oasis — perhaps the most meaningful and popular British band of the 1990s, and certainly the rowdiest and most fun — toggled back and forth between masculinist ecstasy and a sometimes fumbling search for it in a frills-free and dogged performance. At times, it was pure triumph, the grandest pub singalong fathomable. At other moments, it was a ramble in the dark. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hamilton Spectator
3 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
China's first Legoland opens to visitors in Shanghai
SHANGHAI (AP) — A giant 26-meter (85-foot) Lego figure named Dada welcomed visitors to the new Legoland resort in Shanghai. The resort, which opened Saturday, is the first in China. It is one of 11 parks across the world and was built with 85 million Lego bricks. Among the main attractions is Miniland, which replicates well-known sights from across the world using Lego bricks. It features landmarks across China like Beijing's Temple of Heaven and Shanghai's Bund waterfront. There's also a boat tour through a historic Chinese water town built with Lego bricks. 'My first impression is it is a good recreation, like a real fairyland of Lego,' said Ji Yujia, a Lego fan who was there on opening day. The resort was developed in conjunction with the Shanghai government by Merlin Entertainments and the LEGO Group. Visitors were greeted by performances featuring Legoland characters. Tickets range from $44 (319 yuan) to $84 (599 yuan). —- Corrects to say that Legoland in Shanghai is not the largest in the world.
