6 September 2024, 11:43 | Updated: 6 September 2024, 12:26
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Getty
Liam Gallagher says the attitude surrounding the Oasis reunion “stinks” after fans aired their frustrations at being charged over-inflated prices for tickets.
The musician announced last week that he and his brother Noel Gallagher would come back for a reunion tour in 2025, and on Saturday, the series of UK and Ireland shows sold out in less than a day.
Fans were beset with problems getting onto ticket websites, from being labelled bots and being kicked out of queuing to some ending up paying more than the advertised price of £148 as costs surged past £355.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Thursday launched an investigation into Ticketmaster, including how so-called ‘dynamic pricing’ may have been used.
On Friday, Liam wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Oasis are back (you’re) welcome and I hear (their) attitude stinks, good to know something’s never change.”
When asked if he would do a free concert, he replied saying “don’t be silly”.
Another referenced his mother Peggy, saying how she might feel about ticket fiasco, and Liam responded saying: “She’s gutted she couldn’t get a ticket.”
He also said: “Smug only kidding, Smug as f***. I told you all we were gonna get back together one fine day.”
Liam also appeared to joke, he had “loads” of tickets left, but could only sell them for £100,000 and they would be “kneeling only”.
The CMA will also scrutinise whether the sale of Oasis tickets by Ticketmaster may have breached consumer protection law.
Ticketmaster maintains it does not set concert prices and its website states this is down to the “event organiser” who “has priced these tickets according to their market value”.
Read more: Oasis announce two extra dates for 2025 reunion tour after thousands miss out on tickets
Read more: Oasis hit out at Ticketmaster over ‘dynamic pricing’ row
The concept of dynamic pricing involves the price of a ticket increasing in line with demand.
Tickets for the band’s tour went for up to £350 per ticket, around £200 more than had been advertised.
A spokesman for the ticket sales company said: “We are committed to co-operating with the CMA and look forward to sharing more facts about the ticket sale with them.”
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Alamy
Oasis said in a statement: “It needs to be made clear that Oasis leave decisions on ticketing and pricing entirely to their promoters and management, and at no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used.
“While prior meetings between promoters, Ticketmaster and the band’s management resulted in a positive ticket sale strategy, which would be a fair experience for fans, including dynamic ticketing to help keep general ticket prices down as well as reduce touting, the execution of the plan failed to meet expectations.
“All parties involved did their utmost to deliver the best possible fan experience but due to the unprecedented demand this became impossible to achieve.”
Following the chaos over the weekend, Oasis announced new Wembley Stadium dates on September 27 and 28 2025 using a lottery system.
The final UK Live ’25 tour tickets released will use a new “staggered invitation-only ballot process” with applications to join the ballot opened first to those who were unsuccessful in the initial sale.
The Advertising Standards Authority reported receiving 450 complaints alleging “misleading claims about availability and pricing” from the Oasis ticket release.