UK
Oasis announce reunion – and reveal details of huge UK tour
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.
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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 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.”
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.
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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Stop Crying Your Heart Out. Oasis are back
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.