Rock legends Oasis kick off ‘historic' comeback tour in Cardiff, Wales after 16-year hiatus
'Manchester vibes in the area,' Liam Gallagher, frontman for the band from the northern English city, told an
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
4 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Obituary: Jean Marsh, actress
Jean Marsh in a publicity portrait for the British TV drama series, Upstairs, Downstairs, ITV, 1976. Jean Marsh and close friend and collaborator Dame Eileen Atkins created not one but two hit TV series, Upstairs Downstairs and The House Of Eliott. While different in subject matter — the former focused on the servants quarters of an Edwardian home while the latter told the tale of sisters who established a fashion house in the 1920s, each shared female starring roles, great scripts and exceptional acting. Marsh was born in London but raised in Stoke Newington. She left school at 15 to train as a dancer, before building a career in repertory theatre as an actress. Her big break came in 1959 when she appeared on Broadway with John Gielgud in his production of Much Ado About Nothing. That same year she moved into television and during the 1960s appeared in such shows as The Saint and Doctor Who. Marsh had a long association with Doctor Who: as well as being married to the third Doctor, Jon Pertwee, for five years, Marsh played Joan of England in The Crusade; Sara Kingdom, a companion of the First Doctor; and was a villain opposite the Seventh Doctor. Upstairs Downstairs first aired in 1971, and its five series earned two Bafta awards and Marsh won an Emmy for best actress. At its peak, viewership exceeded 18 million. The House of Eliott (1991-94), which the duo produced, proved equally as popular, rating highly and selling worldwide. In 2010 Marsh and Atkins remade Upstairs Downstairs, in which Marsh reprised her role as parlourmaid Rose Buck, but the show was overshadowed by another period blockbuster Downton Abbey. It was cancelled after its second season. Her film credits included Cleopatra (1963), The Eagle Has Landed, Return To Oz and Willow. Jean Marsh was made an OBE in 2012. She died on April 13 aged 90. — APL/agencies
RNZ News
8 hours ago
- RNZ News
British rock band Oasis reunite in Cardiff
By Paul Sandle , Sarah Mills , Reuters Fans of British rock band Oasis react outside the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Photo: AFP / OLI SCARFF British rock band Oasis reunited in Cardiff on Friday as the Gallagher brothers put more than 16 years of acrimony behind them to deliver a hit-packed set that took thousands of fans back to the optimism and swagger of the 1990s. The Manchester band defined the "Britpop" revival of guitar music, before tensions between Noel Gallagher, the band's main songwriter, and his younger brother, lead singer Liam, led to its split. The group walked onto the stage in the 74,500-capacity Principality Stadium and launched into "Hello," sounding as tight as at the height of their fame. Interaction with the audience was minimal during the two-hour performance. Interaction between the brothers was nonexistent until a very brief hug at the end. The crowd, largely comprising middle-aged fans revisiting their youth, sang along to hits including "Cigarettes & Alcohol", "Supersonic", and "Roll With It." At the end of "Live Forever," a picture of Liverpool and Portugal footballer Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car accident on Thursday, was shown on the screens behind the band. Oasis ended with "Don't Look Back in Anger," "Wonderwall", and "Champagne Supernova," all pulled from their second album, "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?", the biggest-selling record in Britain in the 1990s. "Thank you for putting up with us over the years," Liam said. Adam Williams, 42, from Wrexham in North Wales, last saw the band in 2008. "They were probably better than they were then," he said. Oasis had announced the shows nearly a year ago, setting off a frenzy for tickets. "The thing that makes the Oasis reunion special is the thing that makes any reunion special: It has to be something that people really want and something that people thought they'd never see. And Oasis ticks both those boxes," music journalist Mark Sutherland told Reuters. Fans started to gather early outside the stadium, where official Adidas-Oasis football shirts were on sale for 85 pounds (NZ$191). "They're more than a band, it's almost like a movement," said Matt Hobman, 48. "It's like a piece of Britishness." The Gallaghers were joined by original member Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs, as well as Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Joey Waronker on stage. Many fans waited for hours in online queues to buy tickets last year, only to find prices had jumped when they eventually had a chance to get them. Britain's competition watchdog launched an investigation into Ticketmaster over the sale, including the use of "dynamic pricing" to hike the cost to fans at the last minute. "Are you having a good time?" Liam asked the crowd. "Was it worth the 40,000 pounds (NZ$90,000) you paid for the ticket?" Oasis play one more show in Cardiff, before the tour moves to the Gallaghers' home city of Manchester. It continues in Britain and Ireland, followed by shows across North and South America, Asia and Australia. - Reuters
1News
9 hours ago
- 1News
'It's good to be back!': Oasis reunion tour kicks off in Cardiff
Oasis finally took to the stage in Wales on Friday (local time) for the start of a highly anticipated reunion tour. In front of an ecstatic capacity crowd, the band chose to resume live performances after 16 years with the apt Hello and its refrain of 'it's good to be back". After a montage of headlines about the feuding brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher was capped with the words "the guns have fallen silent," Oasis appeared on stage to a deafening roar. The brothers largely kept their distance onstage. Noel hammered away at his guitar while a parka-clad Liam snarled into the microphone. After the opening salvo, they followed up with a string of fan favourites including Acquiesce and What's the Story, Morning Glory. ADVERTISEMENT "Turn around," a tambourine-clutching Liam exhorted the crowd before launching into Cigarettes and Alcohol. "Put your arms over each other like you love each other," he said. Liam Gallagher, left, and Noel Gallagher, right, from the band Oasis perform during their reunion concert. (Source: Associated Press) Earlier in the day, tens of thousands of Oasis fans thronged the streets of Cardiff before the Britpop-era rockers were kicking off a hotly, and somewhat anxiously, anticipated reunion tour. The return of the band behind Wonderwall, Supersonic and Champagne Supernova was a major moment for fans. One fan banner summed it up: "The great wait is over." 'Very, very special' ADVERTISEMENT Will it be a storming success? Definitely maybe. Oasis perform during their reunion concert. (Source: Associated Press) Predictions are tricky when it comes to the Gallaghers, 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," author and music journalist John Aizlewood said. He said that 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 UK and Ireland. Then come stops in North America, South America, Asia and Australia, ending in Sao Paulo on Nov. 23. Warming up the crowd were two Britpop era acts: Liverpool band Cast — who dedicated the ballad Walkaway to Liverpool player Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car crash on Thursday — and former The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft, whose stirring song The Drugs Don't Work got fans in a suitably 1990s mood. Many ticketholders who traveled to the Welsh capital from as far away as Australia grew up with Oasis and have waited years for this moment. Before the show, the streets around the stadium filled with fans who gathered in groups to sing along to the band's hits and snapped up Oasis-branded bucket hats at £35 pounds (NZ$78) each. ADVERTISEMENT "It's very, very special — emotional," said 44-year old Rob Maule from Edinburgh, Scotland. "I'm here with three of my friends, childhood friends, and we used to see Oasis across the country. "For us, it's a generational thing. It's a chapter of our lives," he said. "And then the second generation, as people are taking their kids. It's really special.' Vicki Moynehan came from Dorchester, in southwest England. She said her life has changed since she bought her ticket almost a year ago. "Seven months pregnant — ain't gonna stop me," she said. Singalong rock choruses Founded in the working-class streets of Manchester, England, in 1991, Oasis released its debut album, Definitely Maybe in 1994, and it became one of the dominant British acts of the 1990s, releasing eight UK No. 1 albums and producing hits including Live Forever, 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 front man of compelling swagger and style. ADVERTISEMENT 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 ages 58 and 52, respectively, 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 guitar, bassist Andy Bell and drummer Joey Waronker. 'An absolute unbelievable blast' The announcement of the UK 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. ADVERTISEMENT Some fans who waited online for hours at the Ticketmaster site complained that they ended up paying £355 (NZ$799) for regular standing tickets instead of the expected £148 (NZ$333). The ticketing troubles sparked questions in UK Parliament, where Arts Minister Chris Bryant criticised "practices that see fans of live events blindsided by price hikes". Britain's competition regulator has since threatened Ticketmaster — which sold around 900,000 Oasis tickets — with legal action. No plans have been announced for Oasis to record any new music, and the tour is being presented as a one-off. Aizlewood said that 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." Fans were determined to enjoy the moment. "I'm the oldest sibling of four brothers, so I know they'll fall out," said Stephen Truscott, from Middlesbrough in northeast England. "(But) the first night, they're going to have an absolute unbelievable blast. It's going to be the best."
