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Oasis have confirmed it’s happening – Noel and Liam Gallagher are reuniting, with huge shows planned for 2025.

The announcement comes just ahead of the 30th anniversary of Oasis‘s seminal debut album Definitely Maybe, released on 29 August 1994, and 15 years since the last time the brothers performed together before their infamous fall-out.

Both Noel and Liam Gallagher shared the news on their social media sites, saying: “This is it, this is happening.” They will play four Wembley concerts – as well as four Manchester gigs and shows in Scotland, Wales and Ireland in July and August 2025.

Oasis said: “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised.”

The brothers have been pictured together for the first time in years to mark the announcement, with the photograph taken in London in July.

Oasis reunion: Follow live updates

Liam and Noel Gallagher at the Oasis Knebworth gigs. Pic: Times Newspapers/Shutterstock

Oasis at the Knebworth Festival, Britain - Aug 1996
Liam and Noel Gallagher

Aug 1996
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Liam and Noel Gallagher, pictured at the famous Oasis Knebworth gigs, are finally reuniting. Pic: Times Newspapers/Shutterstock

‘The time is right’

Revealing details about why the reunion is finally happening now, the band’s statement said there had been “no great revelatory moment”, but rather “the gradual realisation that the time is right”.

However, they said the timing “must be a subconscious influence”, coming so close to the Definitely Maybe anniversary.

The shows announced will be the only gigs in Europe next year, they said, potentially quashing rumours of a headline slot at Glastonbury. Plans are also under way for shows further afield later in 2025.

Details of who else from Oasis’s previous line-ups will rejoin them, or of other musicians in the pipeline, have yet to be confirmed.

Definitely Maybe album by Oasis. Pic: CBW/Alamy
Image:
Definitely Maybe was released 30 years ago. Pic: CBW/Alamy

Speculation about a reunion had grown in recent weeks, with music insiders leaking details of planned shows.

Liam had also dropped hints beforehand, telling a user on X: “See you down the front.” He also shared a post saying he “never did like that word FORMER”.

Now, the comeback has been confirmed.

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It comes after a run of solo shows for Liam marking the Definitely Maybe anniversary, while older brother Noel, 57, was playing shows during the summer with his band, the High Flying Birds.

During one Definitely Maybe gig, Liam, 51, made a point of dedicating Half The World Away to his “little brother”, saying he was “still playing hard to get”.

But at one of Noel’s shows, when apparently asked about Liam by a fan, the Oasis songwriter said his younger brother should be “thankful for my genius” and told the crowd: “Just remember who wrote all the f***ing songs.”

Noel Gallagher, right, and Liam Gallagher, of Oasis, appears on the television show "Top of the Pops" at BBC TV Studios in 2002. (AP Photo/Mark Allan)
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Oasis on Top Of The Pops at BBC TV Studios in 2002. Pic: AP Photo/Mark Allan

What happened in 2009?

Formed in the early 1990s, Oasis rose to fame with songs such as Supersonic, Cigarettes & Alcohol and Live Forever, before second album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory gave them their first number one single, Some Might Say, the following year.

With other hits including Wonderwall, Don’t Look Back In Anger, Stand By Me, Lyla and The Importance Of Being Idle, became one of the biggest bands in British music history.

When and where will the Oasis gigs take place?

4 July 2025 – Principality Stadium, Cardiff

5 July 2025 – Principality Stadium, Cardiff

11 July 2025 – Heaton Park, Manchester

12 July 2025 – Heaton Park, Manchester

19 July 2025 – Heaton Park, Manchester

20 July 2025 – Heaton Park, Manchester

25 July 2025 – Wembley Stadium, London

26 July 2025 – Wembley Stadium, London

2 August 2025 – Wembley Stadium, London

3 August 2025 – Wembley Stadium, London

8 August 2025 – Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh

9 August 2025 – Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh

16 August 2025 – Croke Park, Dublin

17 August 2025 – Croke Park, Dublin

Their infamous break-up, prompted by a backstage brawl before they had even made it on stage at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris in August 2009, has only added to the band’s legendary status.

It happened when Liam damaged one of his elder brother’s guitars, causing Noel to dramatically quit – ending the partnership that had propelled them to fame and fortune.

“It is with some sadness and great relief… I quit Oasis tonight,” Noel later said in a statement. “People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.”

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The ‘unsolvable conundrum’ of Oasis’s biggest album

Stop Crying Your Heart Out. Oasis are back


Katie Spencer

Katie Spencer

Arts and entertainment correspondent

@SkyKatieSpencer

With no less swagger than you’d expect from one of the biggest bands in British rock, “the great wait is over” is how Oasis put news of their reunion.

The prospect of Noel and Liam Gallagher ever performing together again had felt less likely with every passing year but, brotherly spats have now been put on ice.

The rumoured record-breaking 10 nights at Wembley are only four, for now, but how sales go will likely dictate whether or not extra dates can be magically made available. As Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham told Sky News, “two lads from Manchester” are generously going to be “giving London a boost”.

So what are their motivations? While some may cynically interpret the 14 gigs as a cash-grab, the dates in so many different parts of the UK and Ireland certainly feel like a commitment to doing this for the fans.

So pull out your parkas. Stop Crying Your Heart Out. Because Oasis are back. The question of course being, given their history, whether the boys will actually manage to make it through the full run.

The feud continued over the years, with the pair exchanging insults publicly – Liam on social media, Noel more when asked about his brother in interviews – but reportedly never speaking in person.

When his documentary As It Was was released in 2019, Liam told Sky News he had wanted to “break [Noel’s] jaw” after he apparently refused permission for Oasis music to be featured in the film.

But after 15 years, they have now made amends – giving thousands of Oasis fans the chance to see them play live once again.

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Previously unheard versions of tracks including Live Forever, Cigarettes & Alcohol and Rock ‘n’ Roll star from the first recording session for Definitely Maybe will also be put out on Friday, marking the anniversary.

In expectation of the official announcement of the reunion tour, Spotify said Oasis streams increased more than 160% globally between Monday and the previous week.

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Liverpool parade collision: Why police released ‘unprecedented’ details about man arrested

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Liverpool parade collision: Why police released 'unprecedented' details about man arrested

Merseyside Police knows – better than any force, perhaps – that in a social media age, an information vacuum can become a misinformation cauldron.

They have learnt from the aftermath of the Southport stabbing attack, where the force was criticised for being too slow to release information that could have calmed the riots that followed.

So, it feels like things have been done differently this time.

Liverpool parade latest: Nearly 50 injured in car ramming

Police tents surrounded by debris at the scene in Water Street near the Liver Building in Liverpool.
Pic: PA
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Police tents surrounded by debris at the scene in Water Street. Pic: PA

The incident happened just after 6pm on Monday.

Videos – captured by fans on their phones – were online within moments. Shared and speculated upon, with guesses as to the attacker’s identity and motive.

But alongside the huge and immediate police investigation, the communication machine moved equally fast.

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Within a few hours, police released a description of the man they had arrested – a 53-year-old white British man from the Liverpool area.

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Moment car drives into crowds in Liverpool

A few hours after that, we had an extensive press conference during which police ruled out terrorism as a motive.

Again, they appealed for videos not to be shared online and for people not to speculate.

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said Merseyside Police “handled the situation fantastically” given how quickly footage of the incident was shared online.

He told Sky News that online misinformation can set “a lot of false narrative”.

The mayor added: “And we all know that speculation and social media are a wildfire of different vantages, and some of it is for nefarious reasons.

“So, it was right, of course, that the police reacted as quickly as they did to dampen down some of the types of posts that we were witnessing, you know, saying that there were other things happening throughout the city.”

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‘These were utterly tragic scenes’

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Eyewitnesses describe shock and sadness

Police commentator Graham Wettone also told Sky News the force had done well to quickly combat misinformation spreading online.

He said: “That’s always a problem in today’s day and age, social media taking over so much news reporting, with so many people as well present at the scene where that awful incident took place, mobile phones out, people recording it, and then posting it almost straight away.”

Dal Babu, a former Metropolitan Police chief superintendent, also highlighted it was “unprecedented” that the force “very quickly” gave the ethnicity and race of the suspect.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: “I think that was to dampen down some of the speculation from the far-right that sort of continues on X even as we speak that this was a Muslim extremist and there’s a conspiracy theory.”

Mr Babu agreed that Merseyside Police appears to have learned lessons from what happened after the Southport stabbings.

He added: “The difficulty we have is in the olden days, when I was policing, you would have a conversation with trusty journalists, print journalists, radio journalists, broadcasting journalists, you’d have a conversation and say look can you please hold fire on sharing this information and people would listen.

“We don’t have that with social media, it’s like the Wild West and anything goes and so puts the police in a very, very difficult position.”

Meanwhile, the police investigation continues.

In central Liverpool, Water Street is cordoned off with police officers and vehicles in place.

Flags, sprays of paint flares and empty bottles still cover the road. Whereas they have been cleared elsewhere along the parade route, here they remain. Chilling symbols of the party, that within moments became a scene of utter horror.

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King Charles urged to seek Canadian apology for historical abuse of British children

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King Charles urged to seek Canadian apology for historical abuse of British children

King Charles and Queen Camilla are being urged to use their visit to Canada to seek an apology for the abuse of British children.

Campaigners have called on them to pursue an apology for the “dire circumstances” suffered by so-called “Home Children” over decades.

More than 100,000 were shipped from orphan homes in the UK to Canada between 1869 and 1948 with many used as cheap labour, typically as farm workers and domestic servants. Many were subject to mistreatment and abuse.

Canada has resisted calls to follow the UK and Australia in apologising for its involvement in child migrant schemes.

King Charles and Mark Carney on Monday. Pic: PA
Image:
King Charles and Mark Carney on Monday. Pic: PA

Campaigners for the Home Children say the royal visit presents a “great opportunity” for a change of heart.

“I would ask that King Charles uses his trip to request an apology,” John Jefkins told Sky News.

John’s father Bert was one of 115,000 British Home Children transported to Canada, arriving in 1914 with his brother Reggie.

“It’s really important for the Home Children themselves and for their descendants,” John said.

“It’s something we deserve and it’s really important for the healing process, as well as building awareness of the experience of the Home Children.

“They were treated very, very badly by the Canadian government at the time. A lot of them were abused, they were treated horribly. They were second-class citizens, lepers in a way.”

More on this story:
The forgotten legacy of British children sent to Canada

John Jefkins
Image:
John Jefkins

John added: “I think the King’s visit provides a great opportunity to reinforce our campaign and to pursue an apology because we’re part of the Commonwealth and King Charles is a new Head of the Commonwealth meeting a new Canadian prime minister. It’s a chance, for both, to look at the situation with a fresh eye.

“There’s much about this visit that looks on our sovereignty and who we are as Canadians, rightly so.

“I think it’s also right that in contemplating the country we built, we focus on the people who built it, many in the most trying of circumstances.”

The issue was addressed by the then Prince of Wales during a tour of Canada in May 2022. He said at the time: “We must find new ways to come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects of the past.”

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King Charles and Queen Camilla are on a two-day visit to Canada.

On Tuesday, the King will deliver the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th session of Canada’s parliament.

Camilla was made Patron of Barnardo’s in 2016. The organisation sent tens of thousands of Home Children to Canada. She took on the role, having served as president since 2007.

Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.

A spokesperson for the Canadian government said: “The government of Canada is committed to keeping the memory of the British Home Children alive.

“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada deeply regrets this unjust and discriminatory policy, which was in place from 1869 to 1948. Such an approach would have no place in modern Canada, and we must learn from past mistakes.”

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Ministers considering scrapping two-child benefit cap, education secretary says

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Ministers considering scrapping two-child benefit cap, education secretary says

Ministers are considering scrapping the two-child benefit cap, the education secretary told Sky News.

Bridget Phillipson, asked by Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast if the cap should be lifted, said: “It’s not off the table.

“It’s certainly something that we’re considering.”

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The policy means most families cannot claim means-tested benefits for more than their first two children born after April 2017.

Ms Phillipson’s comments are the strongest a minister has made about the policy potentially being scrapped.

Analysis by The Resolution Foundation thinktank over the weekend found 470,000 children would be lifted out of poverty if parents could claim benefits for more than two children.

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However, Ms Phillipson said the government inherited a “really difficult situation” with public finances from the Conservative government.

“These are not easy or straightforward choices in terms of how we stack it up, but we know the damage child poverty causes,” she added.

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Why did Labour delay their child poverty strategy?

The education secretary, who is also head of the government’s child poverty taskforce, said ministers are trying to help in other ways, such as expanding funded childcare hours and opening free breakfast clubs.

She said it is “the moral purpose of Labour governments to ensure that everyone, no matter their background, can get on in life”.

Her “personal mission” is to tackle child poverty, she said.

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Sir Keir Starmer is said to have privately backed abolishing the two-child limit and requested the Treasury find the £3.5bn to do so, The Observer reported on Sunday.

The government’s child poverty strategy, which the taskforce is working on, has been delayed from its original publication date in the spring.

Whether to scrap the two-child benefit cap is one of the main issues it is looking at.

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