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.'
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Scottish Sun
32 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Reunited Oasis were the best I've seen since 1997 – it's a big call, but I'm making it and here's why
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Kentish Town 1994. Earl's Court 1995. Maine Road and Knebworth 1996. Now add Cardiff Principality Stadium 2025 to that glimmering list. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 6 The Oasis reunion gig in Cardiff will go down in legend Credit: Getty 6 Fans from around the world gathered for the momentous occasion Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 6 Dominic with Liam during Oasis' 90s heyday Credit: Supplied Friday night's unveiling of the unforeseen Live '25 tour is right up there in the pantheon of classic Oasis shows I've been privileged to witness over the past 31 years. They were deafening, bombastic, supreme, commanding and unleashed, with that trademark brooding arrogance, delivering the tunes we wanted but feared we would never hear again, dispatched with no nonsense or histrionics. This was the best I've seen Oasis since 1997. I know it's a big call but I'm making it. Let's analyse why. There is no new material to promote so this was a brazen playlist of the Oasis anthems - the most recently penned track they performed was Noel's Little By Little from 2002. It was if 21st century Oasis had been erased from memory and we were treated to a raucous 90s set, largely served from the peerless 1994 album Definitely Maybe and 1995's (What's The Story) Morning Glory? The Gallaghers granted us our deepest wishes and, with those ticket prices, so they should. The latter Oasis albums had some gems but their live shows declined as the years rolled by because they were laden with new tracks that didn't measure up to their meteoric early canon. Not on a balmy summer's evening in Cardiff, where anticipation and exhilaration hung in the warm air. One of the biggest worries ahead of these shows was Liam's voice. Oasis kick off historic reunion tour as Noel & Liam reunite for first show in Cardiff Fear not. As he sang as if his life depended on it, his vocals sounded more honed than they have for many years and eclipsed recent solo shows. Let's hope it holds. The outfits are the same and the swagger still there but his engagement with the audience more courteous and respectful, a contrast to the barrage of drunken abuse and gobbledegook audiences would often face. We were treated with a classy, gleaming, professional and more mature set by brothers on their best behaviour. I met fans from Japan, South Korea, Italy, Peru and Canada who had flown in to join us on this holy pilgrimage to hear Noel's stirring council estate hymns, which defined our wild youth, and served as reminder of simpler and more colourful times when we were blissfully unaware of pandemics, iPhones and TikTok. Outside, it felt like the build up to a World Cup knockout game, Cardiff's pubs packed from lunchtime and communal singing echoing around the buzzing streets. There's something about Cardiff when a massive event like this is staged, the gargantuan stadium rising from the riverside and overshadowing a city centre stuffed with thronging bars and restaurants. A logical choice for such an anticipated reunion, 16 years in the making. 6 Oasis' set list for their return gig in Cardiff ended with Champagne Supernova Lager-swilling once-lads, clad in Stone Island, CP Company, football shirts and Adidas, dominated proceedings but there were also starry-eyed groups of young men and women present, being seduced by a Gallagher onslaught for the first time. We mingled with football managers Sean Dyche and Steve Cooper, Noel's ex-Meg Mathews and daughter Anais, Johnny Vaughan, Danny Dyer, Kasabian and Alan McGee. It was like the glorious 90s were back. Inside, Cast, who I first saw supporting Oasis in 1994, and The Verve's Richard Ashcroft set the tone with engaging performances, again shunning new material and the latter delivering all the classics from his band's creative highpoint Urban Hymns, closing with a peerless Bittersweet Symphony which felt like a headline act's encore. There was no messing about from any of the acts that night. Instrumental F*****' In The Bushes, from Standing On The Shoulder Off Giants, then exploded from the speakers, a video montage of newspaper and online headlines flashing on the gigantic screens, the first of many goosebump moments triggered by Noel's masterful songwriting. Witnessing the feuding brothers then stepping onto the sweeping stage, Liam's left arm on his older sibling's shoulder and his other aloft clutching maracas, is something that will live long in the memory, the Cardiff roar heralding the burying of the hatchet, the biblical brothers back together in front of their families and a worshipping congregation. What a moment - and one I felt I had to witness after documenting the highs and lows of Oasis for The Sun, thirty years of mad encounters, unforgettable interviews, reviews, run-ins and joy, seeing them perform in Tokyo, California, Manchester, Oslo, Milan, Majorca and even Exeter. This was up there with the best. We debated whether they would open with Hello, it seeming apt with a singalong chorus of It's Good To Be Back, but concerned about its controversial association with Gary Glitter, who has a songwriting credit on it. But it was impossible to resist, followed by that stirring anthem of brotherly love, Acquiesce, a song Noel tossed away as a b side, when his songwriting seemed unstoppable. 6 Liam's left arm on his older sibling's shoulder and his other aloft clutching maracas, is something that will live long in the memory, These spiritual paeans capture a moment in time and unleashed something within 74,500 souls, transfixed and on our stomping feet throughout a polished two hour set under the roof in this cavernous arena. Yet it somehow felt intimate - there was hugging of strangers, arms held aloft with lifelong friends and the spilling of expensive drinks as we joined the thundering choruses of Slide Away, Don't Look Back In Anger and Champagne Supernova. It felt like this was a climax to sixteen years of soul-searching by the brothers, a coming to the senses about their relationship, their inimitable band and what the British public want, even giving a respectful on-screen nod to their former drummer Tony McCarroll and the Water Rats venue where they debuted in London, on Rock 'n' Roll Star. A realisation that life's too precious and short for tantrums and feuding, this encapsulated touchingly on Live Forever, accompanied by a tribute to Liverpool ace Diogo Jota, killed in a car crash aged 28. Noel's fabled guitar solo pierced the mesmerised stadium and we were all 24 again. At times, the crowd - particularly on the pitch - seemed a little passive and static particularly during Supersonic which was surprising, something I don't anticipate being repeated in Manchester or at Wembley. I'd rather have heard Shakermaker, Stop Crying Your Heart Out or Columbia, a fans' favourite and setlist no-brainer over the years, than Fade Away but I'm maybe, no definitely, nitpicking here. Andy Bell, Gem Archer and Joey Waronker were workmanlike and took care of business but our tired eyes were only on two people. 6 Liam blasting out Oasis hits for the crowd There was less prowling from Liam, with bouncer Bonehead a barrier separating the siblings, between whom there was little interaction during the set itself. Noel dispatched Talk Tonight and Half The World Away with aplomb but the climax of Don't Look Back In Anger, Wonderwall and Champagne Superova is one of the great closing trilogies in the history of modern music. We were left spellbound after witnessing the biggest British rock reunion of all time, never likely to be eclipsed. I'm confident that the Gallaghers' professionalism, newly-found maturity and several hundred million other reasons, will see them sail through this tour, which will surely stretch into 2026. That would mark the 30th anniversary of their pinnacle, celebrating an era where music, fashion and art was better, life was less complicated and the world was a more contented place. That's the story.
The Sun
32 minutes ago
- The Sun
Reunited Oasis were the best I've seen since 1997 – it's a big call, but I'm making it and here's why
Kentish Town 1994. Earl's Court 1995. Maine Road and Knebworth 1996. Now add Cardiff Principality Stadium 2025 to that glimmering list. 6 6 6 Friday night's unveiling of the unforeseen Live '25 tour is right up there in the pantheon of classic Oasis shows I've been privileged to witness over the past 31 years. They were deafening, bombastic, supreme, commanding and unleashed, with that trademark brooding arrogance, delivering the tunes we wanted but feared we would never hear again, dispatched with no nonsense or histrionics. This was the best I've seen Oasis since 1997. I know it's a big call but I'm making it. Let's analyse why. There is no new material to promote so this was a brazen playlist of the Oasis anthems - the most recently penned track they performed was Noel's Little By Little from 2002. It was if 21st century Oasis had been erased from memory and we were treated to a raucous 90s set, largely served from the peerless 1994 album Definitely Maybe and 1995's (What's The Story) Morning Glory? The Gallaghers granted us our deepest wishes and, with those ticket prices, so they should. The latter Oasis albums had some gems but their live shows declined as the years rolled by because they were laden with new tracks that didn't measure up to their meteoric early canon. Not on a balmy summer's evening in Cardiff, where anticipation and exhilaration hung in the warm air. One of the biggest worries ahead of these shows was Liam's voice. Fear not. As he sang as if his life depended on it, his vocals sounded more honed than they have for many years and eclipsed recent solo shows. Let's hope it holds. The outfits are the same and the swagger still there but his engagement with the audience more courteous and respectful, a contrast to the barrage of drunken abuse and gobbledegook audiences would often face. We were treated with a classy, gleaming, professional and more mature set by brothers on their best behaviour. I met fans from Japan, South Korea, Italy, Peru and Canada who had flown in to join us on this holy pilgrimage to hear Noel's stirring council estate hymns, which defined our wild youth, and served as reminder of simpler and more colourful times when we were blissfully unaware of pandemics, iPhones and TikTok. Outside, it felt like the build up to a World Cup knockout game, Cardiff's pubs packed from lunchtime and communal singing echoing around the buzzing streets. There's something about Cardiff when a massive event like this is staged, the gargantuan stadium rising from the riverside and overshadowing a city centre stuffed with thronging bars and restaurants. A logical choice for such an anticipated reunion, 16 years in the making. 6 Lager-swilling once-lads, clad in Stone Island, CP Company, football shirts and Adidas, dominated proceedings but there were also starry-eyed groups of young men and women present, being seduced by a Gallagher onslaught for the first time. We mingled with football managers Sean Dyche and Steve Cooper, Noel's ex- Meg Mathews and daughter Anais, Johnny Vaughan, Danny Dyer, Kasabian and Alan McGee. It was like the glorious 90s were back. Inside, Cast, who I first saw supporting Oasis in 1994, and The Verve's Richard Ashcroft set the tone with engaging performances, again shunning new material and the latter delivering all the classics from his band's creative highpoint Urban Hymns, closing with a peerless Bittersweet Symphony which felt like a headline act's encore. There was no messing about from any of the acts that night. Instrumental F*****' In The Bushes, from Standing On The Shoulder Off Giants, then exploded from the speakers, a video montage of newspaper and online headlines flashing on the gigantic screens, the first of many goosebump moments triggered by Noel's masterful songwriting. Witnessing the feuding brothers then stepping onto the sweeping stage, Liam's left arm on his older sibling's shoulder and his other aloft clutching maracas, is something that will live long in the memory, the Cardiff roar heralding the burying of the hatchet, the biblical brothers back together in front of their families and a worshipping congregation. What a moment - and one I felt I had to witness after documenting the highs and lows of Oasis for The Sun, thirty years of mad encounters, unforgettable interviews, reviews, run-ins and joy, seeing them perform in Tokyo, California, Manchester, Oslo, Milan, Majorca and even Exeter. This was up there with the best. We debated whether they would open with Hello, it seeming apt with a singalong chorus of It's Good To Be Back, but concerned about its controversial association with Gary Glitter, who has a songwriting credit on it. But it was impossible to resist, followed by that stirring anthem of brotherly love, Acquiesce, a song Noel tossed away as a b side, when his songwriting seemed unstoppable. 6 These spiritual paeans capture a moment in time and unleashed something within 74,500 souls, transfixed and on our stomping feet throughout a polished two hour set under the roof in this cavernous arena. Yet it somehow felt intimate - there was hugging of strangers, arms held aloft with lifelong friends and the spilling of expensive drinks as we joined the thundering choruses of Slide Away, Don't Look Back In Anger and Champagne Supernova. It felt like this was a climax to sixteen years of soul-searching by the brothers, a coming to the senses about their relationship, their inimitable band and what the British public want, even giving a respectful on-screen nod to their former drummer Tony McCarroll and the Water Rats venue where they debuted in London, on Rock 'n' Roll Star. A realisation that life's too precious and short for tantrums and feuding, this encapsulated touchingly on Live Forever, accompanied by a tribute to Liverpool ace Diogo Jota, killed in a car crash aged 28. Noel's fabled guitar solo pierced the mesmerised stadium and we were all 24 again. At times, the crowd - particularly on the pitch - seemed a little passive and static particularly during Supersonic which was surprising, something I don't anticipate being repeated in Manchester or at Wembley. I'd rather have heard Shakermaker, Stop Crying Your Heart Out or Columbia, a fans' favourite and setlist no-brainer over the years, than Fade Away but I'm maybe, no definitely, nitpicking here. Andy Bell, Gem Archer and Joey Waronker were workmanlike and took care of business but our tired eyes were only on two people. 6 There was less prowling from Liam, with bouncer Bonehead a barrier separating the siblings, between whom there was little interaction during the set itself. Noel dispatched Talk Tonight and Half The World Away with aplomb but the climax of Don't Look Back In Anger, Wonderwall and Champagne Superova is one of the great closing trilogies in the history of modern music. We were left spellbound after witnessing the biggest British rock reunion of all time, never likely to be eclipsed. I'm confident that the Gallaghers' professionalism, newly-found maturity and several hundred million other reasons, will see them sail through this tour, which will surely stretch into 2026. That would mark the 30th anniversary of their pinnacle, celebrating an era where music, fashion and art was better, life was less complicated and the world was a more contented place. That's the story.
Times
37 minutes ago
- Times
This musical is a five-star sensation — it hit my senses first, then my brain
Just this once, believe the hype. Evita's much publicised balcony scene, in which Rachel Zegler's Eva Perón serenades the good people of Oxford Circus with Don't Cry for Me Argentina while the audience inside watch on a giant screen, is a joy. But Jamie Lloyd's revival of the 1978 musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice feels like a conveyor belt of highlights, one after the other. Amping up the revival he first staged at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park in 2019, Lloyd moves it indoors — and then blows the roof off. This Evita is simply sensational. That alfresco balcony scene is both an outlier and a hallmark of the boundary-pushing fun to be found throughout. Cameras follow Zegler as she swaps this Eva's uniform of bra top and hot pants for her more familiar white suit. It could so easily be naff, yet the clash of artifice and reality — why, there's a glimpse of the crowd standing outside the Pret next door! — makes for a great moment. It's as exciting as Tom Francis's walk round the block in Lloyd's Sunset Boulevard (with Nicole Scherzinger) but drilled deeper into the storytelling. Why? Because it's our sole glimpse of Eva, the wife of the authoritarian president Juan Perón, facing her public. She glances at the cameras to make us her confidants as she puts on her show. And then the cameras follow her as she strides back on stage to sing High Flying, Adored from the top of the wide bank of steps that is Soutra Gilmour's set. Kapow! • The best shows in London and the UK to book now The kapows keep coming. The remarkable sound of the requiem at the start, from a huge cast shrouded in cowls, smoke and spotlights. Diego Andres Rodriguez as our narrator, Che, striding around casually for Oh What a Circus, and ending up half-naked and bloodied. The sinuous, half-dressed chorus who bump, grind, crawl and tango their way across the steps, creating the world of mid-century Buenos Aires, telling stories with their bodies alone (a medal, please, for the choreographer Fabian Aloise). Haze and spotlights add to the sense of place, of forward motion and sexual desire. Is this the most sensual Lloyd Webber production of them all? It feels radical, yet also rooted in faithful, full-hearted renditions of some of his catchiest tunes. At the centre of it all is the American Zegler, 24, oozing starry command. Making herself strategically doll-like as she plays with the patriarchy, her Eva is always magnetic. Zegler aces the charisma and, not least, vocal power required of an approach that's sometimes more like a Beyoncé stadium show than a West End musical. All that notoriety for her brash comments about Snow White suddenly feels old. A star is reborn. • Read more theatre reviews, guides and interviews Is there collateral damage from Lloyd's ever-stylish, rarely literal approach? Yes, there is some loss of clarity, even if you always get the gist, and some of Rice's adroit lyrics get lost in the gig-level amplification. The songs and the story are less compelling in the more contemplative conclusion. The worst this ever is, though, is a truly great concert performance. It is properly sensational, in that it hits the senses first, the brain second. Did I feel huge amounts for our morally ambiguous heroine? Not really. Did I care that I didn't care? Not really. What a circus. What a parade. ★★★★★London Palladium What have you enjoyed at the theatre recently? Let us know in the comments below and follow @timesculture to read the latest reviews
