Written by: Shawn Brown
About a year ago, the seemingly improbable and earth-shattering news hit the internet that Liam and Noel Gallagher were reuniting Oasis.
My reaction was roughly as follows:
“Holy shit!” (Googling further).
“Holy fuck!” (again with the Googling).
“No fucking way!”
This was shortly followed by a tearful, yet joyous sprint down the street bellowing “SOOOOOOOOO SALLY CAN WAIT”…..in my boxers.
Without running down the entire legendary rock & roll of it all, it has long seemed like an absolute impossibility that Oasis would ever reunite. And I do mean EVER. Mostly because in order for that to happen, it would require Liam and Noel Gallagher to actually speak to one another, which allegedly hadn’t happened in at least 16 years.
For those of you who’ve long moved on from Oasis and their dominant 90’s hit-filled zenith (and if you are currently in North America, there are many of you), then you might indeed be wondering what all the fuss is about.
Brothers fight and eventually make up; no biggy. Plus this whole reunion thing is a total money grab, right?!
Sure, sure, sure.
If you’d like to be cynical, carry on. I, for one, am going to gleefully take the glass is half full approach, and fill that glass with English lager and pound it while wearing a Union Jack cape, matching socks and bucket hat.
I’ve always loved Oasis. In ’94, their “Live Forever” video sent me scurrying down to the Record Exchange in Boise, ID in search of their debut album Definitely, Maybe. I wore that fucker out. Then came What’s the Story Morning Glory?, which was an obvious entry into the top echelon of the finest albums in recorded human history. I actually always liked its follow-up Be Here Now as well, in spite of all the cocaine ingested during the recording process (or because of it, I could never quite tell). I even have favorites scattered across the remaining far less celebrated albums in their discography. When they disbanded in spectacular fashion in 2009, I remember being upset but it hardly came as a surprise at the time. Perhaps it was more surprising that they’d even made it as far as they had without some sort of irreparable damage occurring earlier on.
After all, those Gallaghers are fucking mental.
It’s of course completely true that Noel and Liam Gallagher have always been at odds and their long documented sibling battles existed far before there was an Oasis or money for cocaine.
However, their contentious relationship was always one of the more entertaining and bemusing aspects of following the band and was often credited as one of the central factors for their success.
Both Liam and Noel are, and have always been, the genuine article They’re real rock and roll stars and the tension between them was necessary fuel that always presented as 100% real.
To be clear, these guys fucking hated each other. During the course of Oasis’ existence, they consistently berated and slagged each other off, both in the press and to each others’ faces. There were infinite dustups, fist fights and make-ups. They were tabloid fixtures in the UK long after the band broke. Both have continued to be popular in the press over the years, regularly taking unseemly shots at each other through their interviews. It turns out that talking endless shit at each through social media was their only form of communication.
To be fair, it was partly hilarious, partly insufferable, and always a little bit sad.
Much to their mother’s dismay, they hadn’t spoken directly since the band broke up 16 years ago.
So whatever it was that was wrong between them, it was not just your ordinary run of the mill family squabble.
The “only doing it for money” narrative is always a good one. Noel and Liam are undoubtedly filling their coffers with this current reunion tour. Some estimates are putting their potential take somewhere between 50 -100 million dollars each (for only 41 shows)!
It is also true that Noel Gallagher recently suffered through a very painful (and likely very expensive) divorce. Some might say any financial fallout from his divorce would be an incredibly strong motivator for doing this reunion, while others say parting from his ex-wife actually cleared away a key obstacle that was keeping the brothers apart.
Let’s just call that one a draw and move on, shall we?
Oasis has sold somewhere in the ballpark of 75 million albums worldwide and while active, they did tremendous touring business all over the world. Both Liam and Noel have gone on to have varying degrees of success as solo artists as well, though neither’s solo careers likely moved the financial needle too far one way or the other. It’s therefore still a fair assumption that there’s always been plenty of cash. One obvious notable financial distinction between Noel and Liam is that Noel wrote just about every Oasis song and therefore receives the lion’s share of all publishing royalties. In other words, he’s made an incredible amount of money over the years and Liam has not (at least as far as publishing and song royalties are concerned).
But here’s the thing: For nearly 20 years Oasis has undoubtedly been offered heaps and heaps of cash to reunite. Year after year, they’ve likely been inundated with offers from all the major worldwide concert promoters and festivals. Millions and millions of pounds have perennially been on the table.
But year after year, they’ve told everyone to fuck off. So sure, it’s lucrative to do these reunion shows. But why is doing them now any different than any other data point over the last couple of decades?
They’ve always been offered zillions of dollars and said no. Not only have they said no, but they’ve consistently both said that they’d never play with the other again.
So yes, they are absolutely doing this reunion for the money, BUT two things can be simultaneously true. In my humble view, something more has gone on to make this thing happen now. Judging by how uncharacteristically quiet both Gallaghers have been since the reunion was announced, there’s likely a tell-all documentary of some kind in the works where we’ll hopefully get the whole story.
In the meantime, take my money now.
Ooooooh right…Did I mention that my wife and I scored tickets to see Oasis at Wembley Stadium? Yes indeed, we absolutely flew our asses over to London to be a part of it all. Wouldn’t miss it.
Couldn’t miss it.
We saw the 2nd Wembley show on July 26th, where the sellout crowd reportedly surpassed 90 thousand souls.
Richard Ashcroft from The Verve was second on the bill that night, following a very solid performance from 90’s Brit-poppers Cast. Ashcroft is pretty much sainted in Britain on his own and knew the assessment. He was God-like, leaning into every song until the unbridled elation of set closer “Bittersweet Symphony” rang through the stadium.
It was jaw-dropping to behold. Not a dry eye in the house.
There’s no real point in my trying to describe the set Oasis played that night; there are infinite Instagram reels for that. Just pull up any video from any of the shows (especially from the Wembley dates) and you’ll see the maelstrom that occurs when the Gallaghers take the stage hand in hand soundtracked by “Fuckin’ in the Bushes”.
Oasis, complete with longtime cronies Paul “Bonehead” Authors, Andy Bell, Gem Archer, and newcomer Joey Waronker, sound positively massive. Unlike most reunion-type tours, where nostalgia serves as the buffer for the dwindling powers of the participants, the band sounds current.
The Oasis of today is bigger, tighter, and more compelling than ever.
No backing tracks. Just all those tremendous songs played huge.
No negativity. No bad vibes. Just “Wonderwall” sung by 90 thousand people.
And don’t even get me started on “Don’t Look Back in Anger” being sung by that many voices as well.
I’m still not over it.
So why does it matter?
Because it’s magic.
The real kind, the rock & roll kind.
Not just because Noel and Liam Gallagher finally figured out how to get their collective shit together (as wild and improbable as that is).
No, the real magic is in the crowd. The elation. The ground shaking beneath 90,000 people singing together as if the words of these immortal songs can actually heal the broken.
The vulnerability of these massive stadium crowds is actually the miracle on display. Even if it were all to combust in a shambles of broken guitars and piss taking, it wouldn’t change what’s already been achieved.
That’s why it matters; the proof that this kind of collective experience is still possible. Proof that music can still win out in the face of so much hate and worldwide strife.
