It is the reunion that many fans believed would never happen, but the word on the street is that an Oasis tour is definitely, maybe on the cards for 2025.
Some of the biggest hints at a possible reunion have come from the Gallagher brothers: former frontman Liam and songwriter and guitarist Noel, who have been fuelling the speculation on social media.
A short clip of the date “27.08.24”, in the style of the Oasis logo, was shared to both of their Instagram and X accounts on Sunday night, as well as on the official Oasis accounts. The black sign flickered and changed to read “8am”.
Liam Gallagher spent much of Sunday responding to rumours on X, writing: “I never did like that word FORMER,” as well as sharing comments on several news articles reporting on rumours of the reunion. At his headline Reading Festival set on Sunday evening, he dedicated the Oasis track Half The World Away to his brother and later their hit Cigarettes & Alcohol to people who he said hate the rock band.
At the end of the gig, the same clip teasing Tuesday’s date was shown on the stage’s main screens.
Various reports suggest the band are set to play 10 nights at Wembley Stadium and 10 at Manchester’s Heaton Park. Both venues hosted some of the band’s final shows on their Dig Out Your Soul tour, before they split in 2009.
If confirmed, it would break the record set by Taylor Swift this year when she played eight nights at Wembley.
When a fan, responding to the news of a possible reunion tour next year, posted on X that “Heaton Park [is] terrible for concert venues”, Liam replied saying: “See you down the front you big fanny.”
There is also speculation that the band may headline next year’s Glastonbury festival – their last headline slot in 2004 is regarded as one of the worst gigs in the band’s career.
But despite spending 15 years apart, Oasis’ popularity doesn’t appear to have waned, with a generation of younger fans enjoying their music as much as the ageing Britpop kids who attended their gigs the first time around.
This year, Liam Gallagher performed to sellout crowds on a solo anniversary tour of the band’s first album Definitely Maybe, and this weekend headlined Reading and Leeds festivals. Next year marks the 30th anniversary of the band’s huge second album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
With Oasis’ lineup evolving throughout the years, many fans are starting to speculate about exactly who could be involved in a possible reunion aside from the Gallagher brothers.
The dream for many would be the lineup as it stood at the height of Oasis mania in 1995. Original guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs has been a mainstay of Liam Gallagher’s solo outfit for several years, his successor Gem Archer has served as guitar player in Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds since 2017, alongside latter day Oasis drummer Chris Sharrock.
However, original bass player Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan has been absent from the music industry since he left Oasis in 1999, while his successor, Andy Bell, now plays with Oasis’ former label mates Ride, and looks unlikely to join any potential reunion tour.
The Gallagher brothers long had an acrimonious relationship, and reportedly did not speak for years after Noel quit the band following an argument before they were due to go on stage at Rock En Seine festival near Paris in August 2009.
However, if the whispers are to be believed, hostilities have softened. Liam hinted at a possible reconciliation as far back as 2017, when he tweeted on Christmas Day: “I wanna say Happy Xmas to team NG it’s been a great year thanks for everything looking forward to seeing you tomorrow AS YOU WERE LG x”
It sparked rumours of a potential Oasis reunion, which have never really fully died away. And with speculation running rife about a possible announcement as early as Tuesday, they may finally be put to bed.
• This article was amended on 26 August 2024. Owing to an error introduced during editing, an earlier version said that 2025 is the 13th anniversary of the release of (What’s the Story) Morning Glory, rather than the 30th.
