Rumors, facts and (maybe) future concerts
Oasis – arguably the best rock band of all time (or at least of the ’90s) – will reunite for a series of concerts in the UK and Ireland next year. The band issued the following statement on Tuesday: “The guns are silent. The stars are aligned. The great wait is over. Come and see. It will not be televised.”
Here are the details: Oasis have announced 14 dates, starting on July 4 and August 17 in Cardiff, Wales, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin. More dates outside the UK are announced for later in the year, although no US shows have been announced yet. Tickets for the UK and Ireland shows go on sale on Saturday August 31. More ticket information can be found here. In another tweet on Tuesday morning, the band said: “This is it, this is happening.”
How could all this happen, and so quickly? The band, whose frontmen Liam and Noel Gallagher have long been enemies, broke up on August 28, 2009. In 2022, Liam told me he last saw his brother at a football game “about ten years ago.” For fans of the group – which has sold more than 75 million records, making it one of the highest-grossing acts of all time – a reunion is an earthquake. Think of it as the Eras Tour for middle-aged men.
Here’s what we know about the reunion.
How it all began.
Last Thursday, Noel gave a video interview to veteran British music journalist John Robb to mark the 30th anniversary of the release of the band’s first album. Definitely maybeA new edition of the album will be released on August 30th. It is noteworthy that Noel fondly remembers Oasis in the interview and says nice things about his brother. This is unusual because in the last 15 years Noel has mainly spoken badly about Liam. Noel has also denied rumors that the band would play together again. Two years ago he said in a podcast that a reunion “made no sense.”
Here is Noel’s interview with John Robb:
Noel’s new tone in the interview caught the attention of fans. Then, on Saturday, the Just The London newspaper published an article saying that the brothers had put aside their differences and were working toward a reunion:
Oasis are expected to conquer Manchester and London in the summer of 2025. Several major concerts are planned at Heaton Park and Wembley Stadium. According to a rumour, the latter venue is fully booked for ten nights.
The newspaper cited “industry insiders” as its source.
To fuel the rumors, Liam tweeted on Sunday: “I’ve never liked the word FORMER.”
Unlike his brother, Liam has long wanted the band to get back together. In fact, he wishes they had never split up. In his 2022 interview with me, he said: “There was still a lot of work to do, so we shouldn’t have split up because we could have made more records. It’s a shame. I’m talking about Oasis.”
He added: “I like to think Oasis will get back together, but not this week.”
Both brothers have released solo albums and albums with other groups. Liam has toured regularly and his shows consist mainly of Oasis songs. This summer he played 12 shows in the UK and Ireland, also to mark the 30th anniversary of Definitely maybeOn Monday morning, Oasis streams on Spotify increased by 160 percent compared to the previous week, according to the platform.
The context.
Fans have long hoped for a reunion, and rumors of one have been rife for at least a year. Earlier this year, I was convinced they were getting back together to celebrate the three decades since their first album. But “industry insiders” told me Noel didn’t think so. What’s changed? Maybe age has softened him. Maybe their 81-year-old mother Peggy brokered a truce. And then the money. I’m sure they have plenty of it (see: more than 75 million albums sold), but a tour of this magnitude would more than pad their bank accounts. British tabloids reported in January that Noel’s divorce from his wife cost him £20 million last year. Speaking of British tabloids, they’re in full feeding frenzy mode – as if this were royal family news.
Oasis in 1995 in Knebworth, the venue of their most famous two-day concert series, where they played to half a million people.
Timing could also be a factor. Noel has said of a reunion: “Timing is everything.” This week, the revival of Definitely maybeand the 15th anniversary of their breakup. Next year is the 30th anniversary of the band’s second album—(What is the story of Morning Glory?—The album features some of his biggest hits, including “Wonderwall,” “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” and “Champagne Supernova.”
The band played their most famous series of concerts in the summer of 1995, when they played two nights at a concert hall outside London called Knebworth in front of 500,000 people. A long-running debate among fans is whether Oasis should have split up after these concerts. For many fans, looking back, Knebworth was the band’s high point, although they released five more studio albums before the split.
On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer commented on the news. At the end of a press conference, he was asked by a reporter from The Sun newspaper: “You’ve spent a lot of time today looking back in anger, but are you happy that Oasis has decided to reform under your watch?”
His response: “What can I say? It’s very, very good. It’s a great song, but I’m not sure I’m in the best position to respond to it after the last 20 to 30 minutes. But let’s see what happens with Oasis.”
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