Cast are to join Richard Ashcroft as the opening acts on the forthcoming UK and Ireland leg of the Oasis reunion tour.
The former Verve frontman will appear at the 19 sold-out dates in Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin between July and September.
In a statement, Cast frontman John Power said:
I’m blown away at the reunion. Oasis are the voice of a generation and the songs that they wrote and sung were and still are the soundtrack to many people’s dreams. They are the people’s band.
I’ve known Noel and Liam all through the years, we go way back. It’s been some ride, some journey. I’ve felt and known their music personally, as a fan. It inspired me as songwriter, it blew the whole scene open like nothing before and it reached way beyond the stratosphere. Everything changed. We were all part of that and we will all be part of this. I’m especially looking forward to revisiting my family’s Irish roots when the tour hits Dublin. Let the opening chords shimmer and shine next July.”
Noel Gallagher has previously described the Liverpool Britpop band as “cosmic as the day is long” and likened seeing them live to a “religious experience”. Cast were formed in 1992 from the ashes of Power’s former band, the La’s, and Peter Wilkinson’s former band, Shack.
As a fan of the La’s, Noel Gallagher invited Cast to support some early Oasis dates, including the show where they were spotted and signed by Polydor. Cast became a regular Oasis support act, including at their famous 1996 Knebworth outdoor show.
Cast’s first album, 1995’s All Change, became the highest-selling debut album in Polydor’s history. It reached No 7 in the UK album chart; follow-up Mother Nature Calls, in 1997, was their highest-charting at No 3. A third album, Magic Hour, released in 1999, reached No 6, but 2001’s Beetroot was a commercial failure, peaking at No 78.
The band split after that album, but reunited in 2010 and continued to release new music and tour.