The 16-year feud between brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher has finally ended with the announcement that their band Oasis will reunite for a UK and Ireland tour.
Despite the long hiatus, their fanbase has only grown since their 2009 breakup as a new generation has been introduced to the music via streaming and parents’ stereos.
Oasis fans share what the reunion means to them.
‘Oasis have been there throughout my life’
I was nine when (What’s the Story) Morning Glory came out and for reasons beyond my understanding, my parents let me buy the CD. I had my copy of Be Here Now stolen by someone at Space Camp. In high school, calling someone your Wonderwall was the highest term of admiration amongst my peers. When I started college a guy in my freshman dorm would serenade me with She’s Electric, which was a successful way of flirting with me. Driving to my senior capstone with others, we played Don’t Believe the Truth every trip.
The only bar I’ve ever been thrown out of was at a friend’s doctoral dissertation party and we played Don’t Look Back in Anger non-stop, and progressively got further off-key. When I had to put my dog down, and a year later driving to my father’s burial, I belted out Thank You for the Good Times while crying. I grew up in El Paso, Texas, so the band never came through and our parents would not let us go to Mexico City. But they’ve been there throughout my life. I’ll be buying a ticket to a show next summer. Jenn, USA
‘I am giddy’
I’ve been a dyed-in-the-wool fan of Oasis since I was 14, and I’ve seen pretty much every iteration of the band: with Liam, without Liam, four different drummers, two different rhythm guitarists, two different bass players. Everyone besides Scott McLeod. When the band split up, I was devastated. But as far as I was concerned, this reunion was always on the cards. I heard rumours as far back as June and July. Now they have reformed, I am giddy.
The last time I saw them was in Dublin in March 2003. It was easily the best I’d seen them because by then they had a full roster of musicians, not just their mates, in the band. Bonehead and Guigsy-era Oasis is my favourite because it reminds me of being a teenage fan, but the latter version of the band had a more robust, muscular sound.
I’ll be trying for every one of their gigs because I know tickets will be like hen’s teeth. One way or another I’ll be going to see them. There are two or three generations of fans all looking to see them now – it was never like this during their prime. Steven Dunne, 43, Dublin
‘I’ll enjoy the nostalgia while it lasts’
I was driving home when I heard the news on Radio 1, and as the chords for Live Forever played, I realised I was crying. It brought back so many memories for me as a Mancunian in exile.
I’ve never seen Oasis live. When I was a teenager, my friend bought us tickets to see them at Maine Road for the crazy price of £30 each. I never made it, though: I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but I was grounded for two weeks the day before the gig. I’d love to see them at Heaton Park, but in all likelihood I won’t be fast enough for tickets. I’ll enjoy the wave of nostalgia while it lasts. Ruth Turner, 37, Luton
‘The WhatsApp groups are going wild’
It feels like a unifying moment. I’ve already heard people playing Oasis tunes from cars and singing from houses. Having gone to a comprehensive in the north in the 90s, it’s hard to overstate how important it was to see people like them doing what they were doing. Oasis gave some sense of how you could be from an area like that and still be creative. I’ve worked in music all my life, and I doubt I would be doing that without Oasis.
I first saw them at Loch Lomond, and the last time was maybe in Cardiff. They were sometimes electrifying – usually when you didn’t know if the wheels were coming off. Sometimes they were stable and that was dull. Hopefully the tension is there this time!
I didn’t expect it to feel like this. It’s more the nice zeitgeist vibes that feel good to me – the performance will be what it is. I just hope a unifying force in the country other than one led by Farage gets people singing and coming out together. Definitely, with old friends: Emmas, Nicola, Andy, Lee, Stiv, Geoff and Stacey and my partner Emma. The WhatsApp groups are going wild. Jack Simpson, 44, Leeds
‘Their reunion is such a breath of fresh air right now’
I was indoctrinated into Oasis by my college mates. They were really big fans because of their parents. It was always the backtrack of our parties. They were constantly playing. The reunion is such a breath of fresh air right now. Immediately, our old gang started talking about it. We’ve made a little group chat and we’re hoping to get tickets to see them in Manchester. It’ll be huge.
It’s been a dark time with these two fighting, but their reunion doesn’t seem to just be fan service. They seem genuine, so we’re excited. I went to King Tut’s in Glasgow a couple months ago, where I think they were discovered, and they’ve got all the Oasis art up on the wall. And we were saying to each other, there’s no way it’s ever going to happen because they’ve been feuding for so long.
I went to Tramlines festival in 2018 and saw the High Flying Birds. We brought a massive sign that said: “Get the big O back together.” Noel pointed at us and flipped us off. But this is vindication, I guess. Joe Makarov, 24, Sheffield
‘It might just make everyone melancholic’
Their timing is good. The UK seems exhausted, and Oasis’s swagger and eternal optimism might prove a perfect tonic – if they can recreate it. Still, that’s a mood and a spirit from an era that is never coming back, so it might just make everyone melancholic – which is the feeling I had at this announcement. Thirty years? Oof.
I saw Oasis in San Francisco, 1995. They were surprisingly heavy – it was a big rock concert, though Noel played their best songs on his own on an acoustic. The most emotional part of the show. Of all the big acts I saw in the 90s, they were probably the best.
The 90s are long gone, though, as is Oasis’s aura. Noel has spent the last 15 years being a professional grumpy dad on TV and radio. He can’t suddenly turn back into a rock star – can he?
I’m not interested in seeing them now. I’m seeing Bob Dylan with my daughter in October, though. We’d queue to watch him play nursery rhymes, of which there’s a higher chance than him playing All Along the Watchtower. Mat, 49, Berlin
‘If it happens, it’ll be a great show’
I worked for PolyGram Records in the 90s and the label organised a bus to take us to Knebworth for the day. I spent most of the time between the VIP area, where there was free food and drinks, and the VIP pit. It was a lovely day until the evening when it started to drizzle, but it didn’t stop us.
My friend Liz and I went right to the front. It felt like we could almost touch Liam, although I’m not sure we would have wanted to as he was so grumpy. We held hands and sang along through the whole gig, but what blew my mind was looking back at the size of the crowd. It was a sea of people who knew all the lyrics. I remember thinking this must be the closest I was going to get to experiencing a Beatles concert back in the day.
I don’t have massive expectations from the new tour, probably because I fear it might be cancelled before it actually happens. I am hoping they’re older and calmer now. If it happens, it’ll be a great show – that I’m sure of. Natasha, 53, Barcelona