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The Boys are Back in Town

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With just two hours to go before the Gallagher brothers take to the stage in Cardiff, is anyone on here interested, and has anyone got tickets to any of the shows.

I’m not going myself, even though I live only a twenty minute walk from the stadium, but the build up this week has been incredible. The local news have talked about nothing else, and the local paper has had pages full of it all week.

I was never a huge fan, and only own a greatest hits collection, but you have to admit that for a few years in the mid 90s, they were the biggest band in the world. I don’t love them, and I certainly don’t hate them, and really do enjoy a few of their songs. They are certainly a part of the history of rock and pop from the late 20th century.

So I wish them well for tonight, and for the rest of the tour, and hope the fans get to see a really good show, as they’ve certainly paid enough to see it.

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Comments

  1. I never saw the appeal. Wonderwall is a great song, and Noel can be a fun interviewee, but Liam always irritated me: nowhere near as good a frontman as said he was, and always moaning about the man who, IIRC, actually came up with the hits.

    However, clearly they made a lot of people very happy, and according to the Guardian the tour is going be a great boost to the UK economy, so that’s good. I hope those going to the shows get their money’s worth.

    I did note that some friends have placed bets on whether the band will make it to the end of the tour, and whether the brothers will split up in the middle of a gig. I expect they’re not alone.

    • Are the bookies taking bets on a bust up? I may have a little flutter myself, if that’s the case. With 41 dates in the next five months, anything could happen.

  2. Fair play to ’em. Brought much happiness to many. I have the feeling thr reformation is bigger for Liam than Noel (apart from Noel’s divorce bills apparently).

    Liam may have the reputation of being a bit of a knob, but the messages sent in songs on his solo albums do show some humility (and maturity?).

    It’s cash for nostalgia, and might lead to more. But then again, Liam might drink Noel’s herbal tea backstage and the band and tour implodes
    (Which is probably what the press are hoping for)

  3. It’s not really targeted at me, although I do like a handful of their songs quite a lot. Having said that, hope everyone has a great time. Lots of parents wanting to show their kids some, (ahem) “real music.” Can you imagine the queue for the gents??

  5. I would rather be at Lana’s Wembley bash. A much greater talent and a magical occasion as far as I can tell.

    I did once fall for the whole Oasis thing. The first album won me over but now it sounds rather simple and lacks any lasting qualities beyond it’s of it’s time power. Liam probably raises it above the humdrum meat and potatoes just through his impressive vocals.

    I guess it’s a big deal for a lot of people and it’s churlish to think they are mistaken. No doubt they will find it all tremendously exciting. A nostalgia fest.

  7. The biggest band in the world?
    Erm… one top 10 hit in America… if you say so.

    The Beatles had 20 Billboard no. 1s, that’s the ‘biggest band in the world’ territory.

    On another thread, I mentioned that the (perceived) notion of fame fascinates me. Most Americans wouldn’t know them from a kick up the arse.

    • Quite. It’s easy to imagine that bands that are huge in the UK (or whatever your home country might be) must be massive everywhere else, but as we know, this is often far from the truth.

      I like the German band Unheilig, to pick an act at random. In their homeland, they had a string of No 1 albums, played massive stadium tours, and won a host of awards. A stadium full of fans openly wept at their farewell gig (before they recently announced a comeback). In the UK or US? Not a sausage. True, many Brits’ apparent dislike of songs not sung in English didn’t help (Unheilig sing in both German and English), but still … Rammstein do well outside Germany, but they are clearly the exception.

      Any glance at, say, the many, many different US charts reveals numerous acts that are clearly selling millions but couldn’t get arrested in the UK. Apparently, the artist with the most top 10 singles in the US so far this year is Morgan Wallen (no, me neither). He’s had 9 (Kendrick Lamar, in second place, has only managed 5). I’m sure many of his fans imagine Wallen must be massive in other countries like the UK. Little do they know.

      If you ask me, Oasis were lucky to manage even one hit in a market as tough as the US.

        • I think that’s spot on. The design flaw is Noel isn’t anything like as good a songwriter as he thinks he is. I remember reading an interview with him where he said, in summary, “drum machine, rhyming dictionary, write.” Mmm. Sounds like it.

      • @captain-darling your mention of Unheilig playing stadiums etc and being unknown made me think of English bands and overseas popularity. As I’ve just been in Bradford tonight Smokie sprung to mind and checked their tour pages. Big in Germany next year but also touring Australia this year and a few others with one gig in London.
        I wouldn’t even go to see them in Bradford but they must have a huge fan base and I can’t remember or be bothered to look up when they last had a hit.

    • Thanks for pointing out my mistake. I meant to say biggest band in the UK, but even that may not be right. Certainly the most talked about and hyped up band for a few years!

    • Certainly not as big over there, but they are also playing stadiums in North America on this tour so I guess they did ok.

      I have seen them live 3 times, first ttime was the best (95), awful on the Be Here Now tour and then a temporary Noel less version a bit later was worse.

      First 2 albums and associates B sides are great, but not sure they were ever a great live band.

    • The world doesn’t consist purely of the UK & US – if you look at their worldwide sales at some point between What’s The Story and Be Here Now, there’s a genuine case to make that they were the biggest band in the world for about a year or more.
      I’ve no desire to go see them – I saw them in Sheffield in ‘97 and thought that as a live act they were just OK, but I’ll always have fond memories of that ‘94-‘97 time that they soundtracked brilliantly, with two great albums, some fantastic b-sides and a third album that heralded the end of the phenomenon but of which, even with all it’s faults, I’m still rather fond of.
      Post this period, there were flashes of brilliance, but nothing to reignite the mania until now. And what a delight to see so many people enjoying the show -it’s a nostalgia-fest for sure (ABBA’s Voyage show had more recent material!), underselling some occasionally great later moments, but it seemed the right set list for these comeback shows.
      Mojo did a top 50 Oasis tracks recently – I made up a playlist of it on Tidal and didn’t find a need on playback to skip any of it’s contents, though equally I didn’t think there was much missing.

  8. I’m not going and I think they are generally gobby idiots with an exaggerated sense of their own importance but they’ve done a few – say 5 – good songs which I feel inspired to listen to tomorrow. I don’t dislike them. They’re more in the “don’t really care” box.

  9. I was offered two free tickets to the Dublin show but figured I wouldn’t enjoy it so my wife is going with her sister. Apparently they went to see Oasis together 25 years ago. They’re welcome to it.

  10. BBC say they were brilliant even if Noel “wears the studious look of a man trying to remember his National Insurance number”.

    Well I saw them enough in the 90s and I may be an old git but I got to see them play a Beatles song.

  11. I’ve realised I tend to like their less heralded songs…Go Let It Out, The Hindu Times and Lyla spring to mind. Great, snappy singles, with straight to the point riffs and tunes which remain on point. Not overlong either. One of the issues I have with a lot of their songs is that they’re just so bloody long. Stop! You’ve made your point. How about less is more??

    • Especially on Be Here Now, half an idea for a song stretched out to 7, 8 or 9 minutes. I think the longer songs worked on the debut. I like their 2nd album too, but not the long Champagne Supernova too much.

  12. I’m with the ‘I don’t care’ lot. Though I seem to care enough to say that I don’t care.

    They’ve pulled truly vast crowds for these shows and I hope every one that goes enjoys every moment of them. Why would I wish otherwise?

    Ever since the debut album my reaction has been ‘eh?’

  13. I am sure I saw a fb feed saying they began with Hello, Hello, It’s Good to be Back. Yes, that one, by the tinfoil paedophile. Or was that a dream? Or possibly some AI shenanigans. Anyone able to confirm whether they did, some wag did or cheese did?

    • Almost…they had a song just called “Hello” from their second album, which nicked a few lines from Hello, Hello, It’s Good to be Back. And yes, they started the gig with that.

  14. I’m another one of the couldn’t care less posse. Having said that I hope everyone of a different persuasion and who is contributing to the Gallagher’s pension fund has a good time.
    I’ve never been a fan of Oasis Quo or it must be said ‘Brit Pop’ and whatever amorphous mass that constituted it back in the day. Thinking back through a glass darkly to those now long gone days I think that was roughly the point when pop music in general began to lose it’s appeal for me. Not that I’m blaming Oasis Quo or Blur or any other bunch of musos for that, it just all began to sound tired and over exploited to my ears. In short it bored the hell out of me and my interest started on it’s long and winding road to different pastures.

  16. I’m not going to see them (health does not allow it) but I think that if you strip away the stuff that’s been written about them… then they are one of the greatest bands from the UK ever. Tabloid stuff, obviously, but also the endless ‘let’s see how serious we can make this’ articles from the Mojo era. It spoiled the fun and suddenly everyone was a critic.

    At the time, they rocked and the songs were brilliant. It must have been like being attached to a lightning conductor, song after song of instantly relatable music, never overplayed, never too clever, but just… right.

    I find their stuff hard to resist. No matter where I am, if (say) Stand By Me comes on, then I will start singing.

  17. I like them and I hope everyone has a good time. Significant amount of young people seem to be interested in this, which surprises me. When I was 23 I heard that The Who we were on tour in the US and I thought that was tragic due to how old they were. This was in 1989.

  18. I hope those who are going to see the Gallagher brothers are getting as excited by it as I am at the prospect of seeing the Evans brothers in two weeks, when The Dawn Chorus play a one-off gig at the Wedgewood Rooms in Portsmouth. Ten quid tickets are still available.

      • They’re all – and always have been – teachers, apart from guitarist Nelly who, until it closed down a couple of weeks ago, was a recording studio engineer.

        TDC split when drummer Matt moved to Watford but the rest of the band regrouped as The Retrospective Soundtrack Players and put out three albums. Singer Kyle then started writing fun Maths books, in addition to his day job.

        I put them on in Cambridge four or five times, and did sound whenever they were in driving distance of home. This will be the first time I’ve been in the audience with no responsibility. And probably the last.

  19. Reformed bands* who I would pay a fortnight’s holiday-worth to see play for two hours in a large arena or stadium:
    .
    .
    .
    Nope, can’t think of one. Not Jellyfish. Not the classic lineup of the Black Crowes. Not XTC, REM or 10cc. As most have written above, I don’t begrudge the fans their enjoyment. I get that Noel G has written some memorable tunes (albeit with some memorably awful lyrics). But the amount they’re rinsing out of the punters on this pension-filler doesn’t endear me to their little turn on the boards.

    * Acts with all members still alive from their imperial period.

  20. Bristol city centre early this afternoon was jam packed with frankly gormless looking bucket-hatted blokes wearing Oasis T-shirts. I have to say that I wouldn’t want to be in a huge crowd full of ’em. Even if there was any music being played at the time that was worth hearing. Which I doubt there will be tonight. Hope Cardiff doesn’t get chaos from that lot all beered up.

    • Thanks for the tip off, I’ll double lock all the doors. Seriously though, Cardiff has been crazy these last two days. With the stadium being right in the town centre, any event there causes chaos. The town centre is sealed off, roads are closed, which causes dreadful traffic jams elsewhere, and don’t get me started on bucket hats. I don’t know when it started, but the Welsh football fans have adopted the bucket hat as part of their uniform now. I think that all stems from Oasis as well.

  21. They produced some great singles and individual tracks – Slide Away is magnificent. In that regard they are like mot of their contemporaries – Cast and Richard Ashcroft, the support acts, are perfect examples of the same thing. And in that regard they are like most decent bands ever – Beatles and Stones apart its true of most of the British 60s bands (ducks for cover for outrage from Kinks and Who fans).

  23. Oasis setlist – 4 July 2025
    Hello
    Acquiesce
    Morning Glory
    Some Might Say
    Bring it on down
    Cigarettes & Alcohol
    Fade Away
    Supersonic
    Roll With It
    Talk Tonight (Noel sings)
    Half the World Away (Noel sings)
    Little by Little (Noel sings)
    D’You Know What I Mean
    Stand By Me
    Cast No Shadow
    Slide Away
    Whatever
    Live Forever
    Rock and Roll Star
    Encore
    The Masterplan (Noel sings)
    Don’t Look Back in Anger (Noel sings)
    Wonderwall
    Champagne Supernova

    I could sing along to all of those bar the fifth track.

    Respect!

    • That seems like a set list to keep the fans very happy, and also those of us who merely think Oasis are ok but certainly wouldn’t fork out north of £100 to see them.

    • It’s a good interview and Noel comes across as very likeable. Dan (one of the hosts) assembles and wires Noel’s pedal boards and no doubt assembled the one used in the upcoming tour.

  25. My son was asking about Oasis last night and why he was hearing them everywhere (yes, even here in Australia). I told him about my first brush with Oasis, how some time in the early 90s I was slouching on a sofa near Cairns in the middle of the night, watching the ABC’s peerless Rage and pontificating on the current state of the music industry. The clip for Supersonic came on, and I turned to my mate and said something along the lines of “Take this lot. It’s a pretty good song but nobody will ever notice it because it looks and sounds like a million other things out there. I feel sorry for them”. Within three months even my mum knew who they were.

    I played the line to my son that many have used in this thread: “Not really my bag but they have a few good songs” and we sat together and played a couple of tracks. I hadn’t actively listened to Oasis for years and doing so again crystallised my main issue with them: production. The songs are so compressed and shouty and noisy that they sound like radio commercials. There is absolutely no sense of development or progression in the songs: they end the way they started. Noel’s magpie-ing of other songs doesn’t bother me so much, except that it’s so coarse and obvious that it almost seems in contempt of the listener. There’s not even a nudge or a wink.

    Anyway, all this is to say that I’m genuinely delighted that they are playing again, and that millions of people will have a live music experience they won’t forget. Best of luck to them.

  26. Managed to nab a ticket for later in the tour. Can’t wait.

    They were never fully my band growing up, but it always felt like the entire generation had been issued stock nonetheless. They were the only act who really seemed to unite everyone, whatever music they liked, and even if it was limited to the classic “I just like a few of their songs”. When Wonderwall came on in the pub, it didn’t matter what you listened to at home.

    The reality is that some acts are better understood by what’s going on in the crowd than what’s happening onstage. Oasis are certainly not a world beating live act (in fact, a mate recently pointed out that they may have been the weakest band on the bill at Knebworth, supported as they were by Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers), however just look at the completely preposterous set list someone posted above and imagine being in the crowd for that, as someone who actually likes crowds. Mind blowing.

    At this stage, there’s a strong argument that Oasis are better equipped than any other act in history to play their best 15 or so songs and take a large, British crowd with them. Right now, those tracks cut across age and class like very little else – probably only Queen would be able to challenge.

    It doesn’t mean those are the 15 best tracks any band has – far from it – but if you told me that we were going to fill Wembley, stick that four song encore on over the PA system without any band at all and just have a singalong, I’d gladly buy a ticket and probably be comparably entertained. Their moment will pass, as all moments eventually do, but right now they remain a unifying force, and I quite like that.

    Have fun all those who are going – seems fairly nailed on that you will.

    • That’s very interesting. I’m not a massive Queen fan, but I still know all the words to most of the hits, and I expect that if Freddie were leading the charge, I and a stadium full of not-necessarily-die-hard fans could sing along throughout the set.

      Case in point, with an admittedly short set: Live Aid. Surely some in that crowd were not Queen fans, but the band had them in the palm of their hands from the first note. Every time I watch that set, I recall that day and simply being blown away by what a good act they were.

      Other than the Beatles and maybe Abba, off the top of my head I can’t think of too many bands that could carry a British audience with them, word for word, for 15 big songs. Maybe (with the right, up-for-it crowd) Madness? Or perhaps Duran Duran in their pomp? The Pet Shop Boys?
      By the sound of it, Oasis are having the same effect. A great live band? Apparently not. Singalong crowd-pleasers? Undoubtedly.

  27. If you want a blokey singalong with 69,999 other people, they are the perfect band. This isn’t an insult, by the way: the communal experience is the lifeblood of many gig-goers’ lives. People will go, and you know what? They’ll bloody enjoy it.

    I’m not particularly a fan – I completely agree that when you’ve heard the first verse and chorus of an Oasis song, you’ve heard the whole thing. I think Champagne Supernova is perfectly ridiculous. The blatant plagiarism is irritating. And yet…I could probably sing along to all but two of the songs on the setlist.

    Ultimately, they are probably the last band who could be huge (more in the UK, yes) in the way they were in the 90s. There’s no Top of the Pops now; there are no queues outside record shops on album release day. I’m sure Ed Sheeran and Adele can sell as many concert tickets, but they’ll never have the cultural ubiquity Oasis did. We’re singing for a world that’s gone, for better or worse.

  28. Like them or not, Oasis are undeniably emblematic of mid-90s Britain (or at least England) … I especially remember summer 1996, when my workplace tasked me with being the minder/tour guide for a party of half a dozen visitors from our US office, who actually commented upon how Oasis were *everywhere*; on newspaper and magazine covers, on the radio when we took a cab, even the girl at the piano at our (very) posh farewell dinner played “Wonderwall”…

    • I found myself walking directly behind Liam into a Chelsea pub, some time after their peak.

      He was doing a subdued Manc walk (which is what made me clock him) and like his brother was much shorter than I expected.

      Speaking of whom, a while after that I was in a guitar shop on Denmark Street one midweek lunchtime and who should roll in. It was just me and him and the guy behind the counter. I think he was either asking about or just getting his hands on a black Gibson Les Paul Custom. I wasn’t. So rather than drift about in the background like a lemon I exited stage left.

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