Liam Gallagher wants ‘established acts’ to support Oasis on their reunion tour

Exclusive: Band are planning to find time to discuss who they want to join them on tour next year

Roisin O'Connor
Thursday 12 September 2024 06:00
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Oasis announce 2025 reunion tour as Liam and Noel Gallagher 'mend rift'

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Oasis are still to work out which acts will support them on their huge 2025 reunion tour, but frontman Liam Gallagher is apparently keen to give fans the best show possible.

While several reports have claimed various bands are already lined up to open for the British rock band at their shows in London, Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh and Manchester, The Independent understands that brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher have yet to sit down and discuss which artists they want.

However, Liam is said to be eager to bring a few big rock acts on board.

“Liam is keen for established acts so it will probably take a bit of back and forth before anything’s confirmed,” a source close to the band told The Independent.

The source also dismissed reports that Villanelle, the emerging rock band fronted by Liam’s son Gene, have already been booked to support Oasis next year.

“They haven’t even discussed it,” they said, pointing out that Villanelle previously toured with Liam during his 2024 Definitely Maybe anniversary tour.

The Independent understands that Gene wants his band to find success on their own merit.

Oasis will perform at stadiums around the UK and Ireland in 2025
Oasis will perform at stadiums around the UK and Ireland in 2025 (DDP/AFP via Getty Images)

Other acts rumoured to be in the running are Kasabian, fronted by Liam’s close friend Serge Pizzorno, and Brit Award-nominated, Stockport-formed group Blossoms.

Responding to a fan question about potential support acts this week, Liam appeared to suggest he wasn’t blown away by what was on offer: “Most of them are proper zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,” he wrote.

Oasis announced their long awaited reunion last month, unveiling plans for a major tour that will include multiple dates at London’s Wembley Stadium and Heaton Park in Manchester.

They later said that a further two dates at Wembley had been added for September, after thousands of fans struggled to buy tickets when they first went on sale on 31 August.

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In a press release, it was announced on Wednesday (September 4) that a new “invitation-only ballot ticket sale strategy” has been devised for the two new Wembley shows “as a small step towards making amends for the situation”.

“Applications to join the ballot will be opened first to the many fans who were unsuccessful in the initial on sale with Ticketmaster,” the statement adds.

It also promises to be “far smoother for fans by reducing the stress and time it takes to obtain” tickets.

Oasis said they wanted to take ‘a small step towards making amends’ for the Ticketmaster debacle
Oasis said they wanted to take ‘a small step towards making amends’ for the Ticketmaster debacle (PA Media)

Those who missed out on the tickets last weekend should have now received an email asking them to enter the ballot as well as a new quiz question.

Earlier this week, it was announced that Oasis have topped the charts for the first time in 14 years, as their debut Definitely Maybe makes its return following the reunion announcement.

Released 30 years ago, the record is back at No 1 thanks to the release of its anniversary deluxe edition, which features previously unreleased material including the Monnow Valley sessions, outtakes from the band’s recordings at Sawmills studio in Cornwall, and an alternative demo of “Sad Song”.

The cover art for Oasis’s record-breaking debut, ‘Definitely Maybe’
The cover art for Oasis’s record-breaking debut, ‘Definitely Maybe’ (Creation Records)

According to the Official Albums Chart, Definitely Maybe enjoyed a 408 per cent week-on-week uplift in sales, with more than 50 per cent coming from vinyl sales.

Two other Oasis albums have also entered the Top Five: their 2009 greatest hits compilation Time Flies... 1994-2009, at No 3, and their record-breaking second album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? at No 4.

Meanwhile, three of the guitars played by Noel Gallagher during the recording of Definitely Maybe are up for auction at Sotheby’s this week, as part of its inaugural pop culture event.

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