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It is the news fans have waited 15 years for – Liam and Noel Gallagher are finally reuniting Oasis for a comeback tour.

They will play 14 shows across the UK and Ireland in 2025 – an announcement made on Tuesday morning following weeks of speculation.

Liam and Noel Gallagher both shared the news on social media.

Tickets go on sale on Saturday, and further Oasis shows outside Europe are also being planned.

Here’s what else we’ve learned from the reunion announcement – and the questions yet to be answered.

The first photo

Liam and Noel Gallagher. Pic: Simon Emmett
Image:
Pic: Simon Emmett

Noel Gallagher famously left the band, signalling the end of Oasis (or so we thought at the time), back in 2009. The brothers have not been pictured in public together since – so Simon Emmett, the photographer who took this photographer, has captured a moment in history.

The new image comes after they met for a photoshoot in London last month, Sky News understands.

The pair were “laughing and joking” with each other as they stood in front of the camera, according to reports, with a source close to the brothers confirming to The Mirror newspaper that they did pose together.

“I know it looks like it could be photoshopped but they were both there and they have met up,” the source reportedly said. “They were laughing and joking. It was great to see after all the years apart.”

Is Glastonbury off the cards? What about a Wembley record?

The set was largely without controversy
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Liam Gallagher played Glastonbury as a solo artist in 2019. Pic: Reuters

Ahead of the official announcement from Oasis, tabloid reports suggested the band would also be headlining Glastonbury.

It seemed to make sense, especially as the festival will be taking a break for a fallow year in 2026. Next year’s should be a big one.

The band previously headlined the festival in 1995 and 2004 and Liam and Noel have played separately in recent years.

However, their statement says the UK and Ireland shows will be their only shows in Europe next year, seemingly quashing those rumours. Glastonbury falls before what is currently the first show in Cardiff on 4 July. Would the Gallaghers really want to share a stage for their first performance?

There were also reports they had booked 10 dates for Wembley – which would break Taylor Swift’s recently set record of eight. So far, only four are announced – but if tickets sell out quickly on Saturday, as expected, it wouldn’t be a surprise if more dates are added.

Are Liam and Noel friends again?

LIAM (L) AND NOEL GALLAGHER FROM THE POP GROUP OASIS, FOOL AROUND AT KNEBWORTH PARK, BEFORE THEIR TWO WEEKEND CONCERTS IN HERTFORDSHIRE.
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Picture by: Stefan Rousseau/PA Archive/PA Images
Date taken: 09-Aug-1996
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The brothers pictured ahead of their famous Knebworth gigs in 1996. Pic: Stefan Rousseau/PA

After years of exchanging insults, some joking but some deadly serious, the Gallagher brothers deciding to appear on stage together again is huge – but the statement announcing their comeback does not reveal how and why they finally kissed and made up.

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

This was the official statement from Oasis confirming the reunion. Further details said there was “no great revelatory moment”, but rather “the gradual realisation that the time is right”. This is it as far as it goes when it comes to addressing their infamous fall-out.

There is no real acknowledgement of the fact they haven’t been on speaking terms for years. Fans will be hoping this is about building bridges and friendship, as well as bringing the music back.

The rest of the band

Oasis pictured in 1997 (L-R): Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs, Liam Gallagher, Noel Gallagher, Paul 'Guigsy' McGuigan and Alan White. Pic: Reuters
Image:
The Oasis line-up in 1997 (L-R): Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs, Liam Gallagher, Noel Gallagher, Paul ‘Guigsy’ McGuigan and Alan White. Pic: Reuters

So far, it has only been confirmed that Liam and Noel will reunite, with no details yet of the musicians who will join them on stage.

The band went through numerous incarnations after forming in 1991 with Liam, rhythm guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs, bassist Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan and drummer Tony McCarroll – later being joined by Noel.

Gem Archer, who took over rhythm guitar duties following Bonehead’s departure in 1999, has managed to remain close to both Gallaghers, performing in Liam’s Beady Eye post-Oasis and now currently part of Noel’s High Flying Birds. Chris Sharrock, who was in the band from 2008-09 and is the only other Oasis member to join the brothers in their respective solo projects, seems the most likely presence on drums.

In recent years, Bonehead has performed with Liam, with the presumption being that he and Noel were not talking – but, replying to a fan on social media last year, he revealed the pair had recently spoken and were on good terms.

It is highly unlikely Guigsy or McCarroll will be joining the reunion. Drummer McCarroll was fired in 1995, before the band went from being the next big thing to the biggest band on the planet, while bassist Guigsy has rarely been seen in public since he quit the band weeks after Bonehead. He declined to take part in the Supersonic film in 2016 and in 2019 Liam said: “Not seen him since he left the band and he only lives up the road.”

There is also Andy Bell, who performed with Beady Eye but was said to have a frosty relationship with Noel. However, in 2023 his band Ride supported High Flying Birds. Alan White, Oasis’s longest-serving drummer, was fired from the band in 2004, with the reasons remaining unclear; his replacement, Zak Starkey, son of Beatles drummer Ringo, performed with the band from 2004 until 2008, but reportedly fell out with Noel.

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Wembley Stadium. File pic: iStock
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Get booking your hotels for Wembley and other venues now. File pic: iStock

The reaction, unsurprisingly, has been significant. Thousands and thousands of people will want to get their hands on those tickets.

If you don’t live in any of the gig cities, you might need somewhere to stay, too. But get in there quickly.

Hotel prices for Oasis’s first night at Wembley are already as much as three times as expensive as the week before, our news correspondent Matthew Thompson reported.

He said a quick look at hotels following the announcement showed some don’t have rooms available for the 25 and 26 July and 2 and 3 August gigs, while others appear to have seen an increase in price.

“I had a quick look at a Holiday Inn a couple of miles away the week before the concert, it’s £195 a night. The first night of the concert, it’s £594 a night,” he reported.

“So already people are getting on the hotel rooms even before the tickets go on sale. That gives you some sense of just how much demand there is for these tickets.”

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Man accused of driving into crowds at Liverpool victory parade faces further 24 charges

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Man accused of driving into crowds at Liverpool victory parade faces further 24 charges

A man accused of driving into crowds at Liverpool FC’s title parade faces 24 new charges.

More than 130 people, including children, were injured when Paul Doyle allegedly drove his Ford Galaxy vehicle into hordes of fans at the celebrations on 26 May.

The 53-year-old, of Croxteth, Liverpool, was originally charged with two counts of wounding with intent, two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, two counts of attempted grievous bodily harm with intent, and one count of dangerous driving.

Six of the new alleged offences relate to babies, including one six-month-old and one seven-month-old, proceedings at Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday.

The new indictment, which was not read out in court, now has 31 counts relating to 29 victims, aged between six months and 77 years old.

Doyle now faces 18 counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, nine counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, two counts of wounding with intent, one count of dangerous driving and one count of affray.

He appeared in court via video link from prison and was in tears.

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He did not enter any pleas during the hearing, which lasted around 20 minutes.

The case was adjourned until 4 September, when Doyle is expected to enter pleas.

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Mosquito bite warning after rise in chikungunya cases in travellers returning to UK

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Mosquito bite warning after rise in chikungunya cases in travellers returning to UK

Travellers are being warned about mosquito bites on holiday after a rise in chikungunya infections in people returning to the UK.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also said the first cases of the emerging oropouche virus had been recorded.

Chikungunya typically causes sudden fever and joint pain, which can be debilitating, and lasts from a few days to weeks.

The name comes from a word in a Tanzanian language meaning “that which bends up”, owing to the joint pain associated with it.

Most people recover but in some cases the symptoms can last several months or even years.

It’s spread by mosquito bites in tropical and subtropical regions, and most of the 73 cases reported in the UK so far this year were in London and linked to travel to Sri Lanka, India, and Mauritius.

Only 27 cases were reported in the same January to June period last year.

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Chikungunya can’t spread directly from person to person – so if someone becomes ill in the UK, they can’t pass the infection on, and the mosquitos responsible aren’t present here.

Dr Philip Veal, consultant in public health at the UKHSA, said it can be a “nasty disease” and the increase in cases was “worrying”.

“It is essential to take precautions against mosquito bites when travelling,” he said.

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“Simple steps, such as using insect repellent, covering up your skin and sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets can greatly reduce the risk.”

Chikungunya is mainly found in Asia and Africa, but cases have been reported in Europe and North America this year.

Two vaccines to guard against the infection are available in the UK from private travel clinics.

The first cases of the Oropouche virus have also been confirmed in Britain, according to the UKHSA.

It’s spread by midge and mosquito bites and the three cases are all linked to travel to Brazil.

Oropouche was first identified in Trinidad and Tobago in the 1950s and had been mainly confined to the Amazon area.

However, cases have been increasing since 2023 and have shown up in places such as the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Peru.

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Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, nausea and vomiting.

Anyone who gets such symptoms after being in Central and South America or the Caribbean is advised to get urgent medical advice.

Most people recover on their own, but it can cause severe disease in the very elderly or those with a weak immune system.

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Man staying at hotel that has been focus of protests denies sexual assault charge

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Man staying at hotel that has been focus of protests denies sexual assault charge

A man staying at a hotel that has been the focus of a series of protests has denied a charge of sexual assault and faces a trial next month.

Mohammed Sharwarq, a 32-year-old Syrian national, was arrested after police were called to the Bell Hotel on the Epping High Road in Essex yesterday, police said.

Sharwarq, who is alleged to have kissed a man on the neck, indicated a plea of not guilty to a charge of sexual assault at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court today.

He indicated guilty pleas to six further charges concerning four complainants – with two counts of common assault and four of assault by beating.

Sharwarq is alleged to have punched a man in the face, thrown an object at a man, slapped a third man in the face and attempted to punch a fourth.

Sky News understands the alleged offences took place inside the hotel between 25 July and 12 August.

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District judge Lynette Woodrow remanded Sharwarq, who was assisted in court by an Arabic interpreter, in custody until his trial on 30 September.

The arrest followed weeks of protests outside the hotel.

Neil Hudson, the Conservative MP for Epping Forest, said last month that the protests were a crisis that “risks boiling over”.

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