(London) “The guns have fallen silent”: the sworn enemies of English rock, Liam and Noel Gallagher, are ending 15 years of estrangement to reform Oasis, with the announcement on Tuesday of a world tour by the legendary Britpop group in 2025.
Fans didn’t believe it anymore after years of rumors and attacks by the media. But the return of the group that marked the 1990s was made official with a video on social networks titled: “It’s happening!” (“It’s confirmed!”).
The 14-date tour will kick off on July 4 in Cardiff, Wales, with four shows in their hometown of Manchester and four at Wembley Stadium in London.
After the UK, Oasis will perform in Dublin, Ireland in August. This will be the only European date outside the UK, but “preparations are underway to take Oasis Live ’25 on other continents later next year,” the group’s official website says.
The brothers, now in their fifties, from a working-class family in the north of England, have not yet been scheduled to perform at the Glastonbury Festival, which is held every year at the end of June and is the UK’s musical event of the year.
Tickets for confirmed dates will go on sale on August 31 at 9am local time (4am EST) in the UK and 8am local time (3am EST) in Ireland.
“The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It won’t be televised,” the group said, releasing a new black-and-white photo of the brothers, side by side in dark jackets.
“Awareness”
The tour announcement, which promises “a set full of classics,” comes 30 years after the album Definitely Maybereleased on August 29, 1994, which launched Oasis, with Liam as vocalist and Noel as guitarist and composer.
Previously unreleased versions of tracks from the album, taken from the very first studio recordings, are due out on Friday to mark the anniversary.
After the resounding success of Definitely MaybeOasis had reached the peak of their popularity with (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? released in 1995, which includes his hits like Wonderwall Or Don’t look back in anger.
After years of bickering, yet another altercation in the summer of 2009 in the dressing rooms, with a broken guitar, at the Rock en Seine festival near Paris, led to the separation of the group formed in 1991 in Manchester and the legendary rivalry with Blur.
Since then, the sworn enemies have long exchanged barbs via social networks and the press, before a relative lull in recent times.
Their reconciliation, they assured on Tuesday, does not come as a result of “a big revelation”, but “a gradual realization that it is the right time”.
Asked in 2016 what it would take to allow a reformation, Liam seemed less than optimistic: “I’m not going to change so I guess the kid would have to change,” he said. “I’ve moved on […] “It’s just a group.”
In early 2023, Noel was still keeping the suspense alive. “You should never say never,” he said. “It would take extraordinary circumstances.”
In an interview last week, the same man complimented Liam, praising “his tone of voice and his attitude.”
Speculation accelerated this weekend with an article in the Sunday Times which the brothers themselves shared on social media with ambiguous comments.
Then Liam Gallagher, 51, dedicated the title on Sunday evening Half the world away Oasis’ Noel, 57, at his gig at the Reading Festival in west London. Liam performed several hits from Definitely Maybe.
At the end of the concert, the social media message “08/27/24. 8am” was shown on the big screen, hinting at Tuesday morning’s announcement.