Is the Oasis reunion going to happen or is it all one big money making scam?

The summer of 2024 brought pandemonium to the UK and Ireland when the biggest Britpop of the 90s announced they would be reforming for a reunion tour that would top all other tours. Fans rushed to their phones, tablets, and laptops to grab a ticket to see the famous Gallagher brothers back for the first time since 2009, reunited and playing sell-out venues.

However, with the whole country in a clamour, there are still some reservations about why this has been brought together and why now after a spell of 16 years where there has been fighting, beefing and massive general dislike. It all raises questions as to what Oasis are doing and will the gigs even go ahead?

Who are Oasis?

Oasis are a band from Manchester who were formed in 1991 by bassist Paul McGuigan, guitarist Paul Arthurs, and drummer Tony McCarroll under the name Rain. With the three dissatisfied with their singer, Arhturs (or Bonehead as he’s affectionately known) invited Liam Gallagher to audition and he suggested changing the name to Oasis. Noel, Liam’s brother, went to watch them and offered them his services as songwriter and lead guitarist. Then Oasis was born.

They took the world by a storm with their debut album Definitely Maybe, which sold over 15 million copies worldwide. It started a phenomenon and there was no stopping Oasis…except themselves.

With seven studio albums to date, Oasis toured the world, made a name for themselves and wowed crowds with their epic shows. The Gallagher presence and the rock and roll attitude attracted people, but also made them divisive; this was the same case for the band.

Why did they break up?

Due to warring tensions between the two Gallagher brothers for years, the volatile relationship came to an end and the band went their separate ways. Liam felt he was being forced out of songs for Noel’s vocals whereas Noel stated on the bands website “It is with some sadness and great relief…I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.”.

The two brothers continued in different capacities. Liam and several members of Oasis stayed to form Beady Eye, whereas Noel went solo under the name Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. Both enjoyed success, and to this day, they still do with Liam, who is also going fully solo in 2017.

However, throughout those years, the brothers still did not speak and refused any contact about Oasis or touring again.

Yet in 2024, all the snipes online and all the comments on chat shows were ancient history and tickets went on sale for a tour in 2025.

Why now? Why all of a sudden change?

This is a question on many people’s lips and still is to this day as they continue to sell tickets for the upcoming gigs in 2025 despite it being a sellout; they are still available through Ticket Compare. It cannot be understated how much these two brothers hated each other and how much they refused to play with each other again, it begs the question if the real reason is money.

Understandably, there will always be an element that money will play a factor, and it is no secret Noel stated on the Jonathan Ross show that it would take “£100 million to reform Oasis”

“With tickets, sponsorship, merchandise and filming, I would predict an income for Noel and Liam of over £50 million each,” Professor Jonathan Shalit, chairman of talent agency InterTalent stated. “This is a tour that could easily gross over £400 million,” he added. Since this quote, there have been 5 more tour dates added in this money-making scheme.

£400 million is an obscene amount of money for two people that might not even do a full tour together; they might not even make the first show together in Cardiff at the Principality Stadium. With £50 million, the rough estimate for Noel, he is not far off his estimate of his flippant comment of £100 million, which is not too far off the mark.

Ticketmaster debacle feeding greed

Whilst desperate fans were waiting eagerly by their devices to get a chance of picking up a ticket or four, for the set price of £148 (cheap eh?), whilst they were waiting in the queue, Ticketmaster used their abhorrent price surging to charge fans more due to the demand. Before fans knew it, they were looking at prices of £400+ for one ticket.

When confronted about the ticket prices, Liam joked with fans on quite a serious matter that his band signed up for. Another reason why the band is clearly in this for the money and scamming fans out of their hard-earned money. 

Was this all planned by the Government?

It is no secret that the UK is in a desperate place at the moment, and with the economy in a desperate state it has been questioned as to whether prime minister Sir Keir Starmer was behind it. It is no coincidence that Oasis split after Cool Britannia came to an end under Labour and their subsequent loss in the 2010 General Election, and then in 2024 when Labour returned, Oasis were suddenly back together after a hiatus under a Tory government. 

Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine said back in 2013. “Someday it would be interesting to read all the MI5 files on Britpop,” he said at the time, believing that Cool Britannia was a government masterplan. “The wool was pulled right over everyone’s eyes there.”

The same is happening again, and the boost the economy will have this summer will be astronomical and help Starmer alongside the rest of his party. Starmer himself, when Oasis were back together, was asked questions to help with his own Cool Brittania outlook much like Tony Blair’s from the 90s.

The British Government will just be hoping that the Manchester band do not have a monumental fallout on the 3rd July before they play in Cardiff.