Noel and Liam Gallagher announce Oasis tour after spat, 15-year hiatus
LONDON - British rock band Oasis said on Tuesday they would reunite after 15 years, with brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher planning a series of live shows in the United Kingdom next year.
Oasis, whose debut album "Definitely Maybe" was released 30 years ago, split in 2009 when lead guitarist and main songwriter Noel Gallagher said he could no longer work with frontman Liam Gallagher.
"This is it, this is happening," the band said on X, announcing tickets would go on sale on Saturday. The first show will be held in Cardiff, Wales, on July 4, 2025.
Oasis said they would play a total of 14 gigs in Cardiff, Wales, Manchester, England – where the band was formed in 1991 – London, Edinburgh, Scotland, and Dublin, in the domestic leg of a world tour. United States dates have not been announced.
"The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised," the band said in a statement on its website.
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Tuesday's announcement follows a weekend of speculation about a reunion, which music streaming platform Spotify said had prompted a 160% spike in streaming globally over a two hour period on Monday compared with the previous week.
A tour in 2025 will mark the 30th anniversary of Oasis' second album "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?", which included the singles "Don't Look Back in Anger" and "Wonderwall."
The release of "Roll with It" from the album in August 1995 put Oasis head-to-head with rival Blur's "Country House" in a chart battle that was seized upon by the media. Blur won the coveted number-one spot.
Oasis frontmanLiam Gallagher announces 'Definitely Maybe' album tour
"(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" went on to sell more than 22 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album of the 1990s in Britain and the band's breakthrough in the U.S.
The Gallagher brothers were often at odds when the band toured in the 1990s, and their hostility continued afterward.
Oasis unexpectedly disbanded in 2009 when Noel Gallagher left the group. He went on to form his own group, Gallagher's High Flying Birds, while the remaining members of Oasis briefly continued as Beady Eye.
Until now, the band has denied ever reuniting.
"He thinks he's the man and I think I'm the man, do you know what I mean?" Liam Gallagher said in 2017.
But the possibility of a reunion turned a corner in recent years. In 2023, Noel Gallagher was asked at a live Q&A who would be on a hypothetical reunion tour.
"So me, Liam. Well, it's a funny thing because we're all at a certain age now," he said. "Hair was a thing in Oasis, so we'll have to see what everybody's hair is looking like. I'm in no matter what."
Fans thought a reunion was in the works last year when Liam Gallagher announced he would be going on a monthlong tour around the United Kingdom in 2024 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the British rock band's 1994 debut album.
"I'm bouncing around the house to announce the Definitely Maybe tour," read his Instagram statement at the time. "The most important album of the '90s bar none. I wouldn't be anywhere without it and neither would you, so let's celebrate together."
Liam Gallagher ultimately performed the tour solo.
Oasis' announcement Tuesday did not mention if co-founding band member and guitarist Paul Arthurs would join the tour. Arthurs, stage name Bonehead, returned to touring with Liam Gallagher in 2023 after a battle with tonsil cancer. It is also unclear whether other previous band members, including Paul McGuigan, Tony McCarroll, Alan White, Gem Archer, Andy Bell and, most recently, Zak Starkey and Chris Sharrock, would return.
Contributing: Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY
