Fans of British rock band Oasis buzzed with anticipation on Monday as Liam and Noel Gallagher teased a return to the stage together, 15 years after the band’s last performance.
The Britpop band – who broke up in 2009 after rising to fame with hit songs “Wonderwall”, “Don’t Look Back In Anger” and “Champagne Supernova” – could play a series of gigs in London and Manchester next summer, according to industry insiders cited by the Sunday Times newspaper.
Rumours included 10 dates being booked at London’s Wembley Stadium and a possible headline slot at Glastonbury festival as the brothers reportedly thawed their decade-long feud.
Both brothers and the official Oasis account hinted on X that an announcement would be made on August 27 at 7am GMT, posting the same clip with the date and time flickering in the style of the Oasis logo.
The clip teasing the announcement was also shown on screens at the end of Liam’s gig at the Reading music festival on August 25, part of the younger brother’s “Definitely Maybe” tour.
Liam also replied to a link of the Sunday Times article posted on X with “See you down the front”, and in another post on X said, “I never did like that word FORMER”.
Formed in 1991 in Manchester, Oasis were credited with reviving British pop music, and kept fans riveted with the public fights between Liam and Noel and their chart rivalry with the London-based group Blur.
Sibling tensions came to a head amid a row in Paris during the Rock en Seine festival in 2009, when Liam broke one of Noel’s guitars.
The brothers have not played together since the acrimonious split, but both still regularly play their old band’s hits to sold-out crowds.
Until now, they had largely communicated in public through taking swipes at each other on social media.
If true, the reunion would take place 30 years after the release of Oasis’s 1995 album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, which received international critical and commercial acclaim.
The brothers have teased a reconciliation before, with Noel last year saying “never say never” about a reunion.
Fans of the band have pleaded with the brothers for a reunion since they disbanded.
During Liam’s headline Reading Festival set on August 35, he dedicated the Oasis track “Half The World Away” to his estranged brother. And during a show in Cardiff, Liam made a point of dedicating the same song to his “little brother,” saying he is “still playing hard to get”.
Fans were also surprised to hear Noel pay Liam a string of compliments in an interview released last week with music journalist John Robb at Manchester’s Sifters Records in honour of the anniversary of (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
Reflecting on Liam’s performance on a number of their hits, Noel said: “It’s the delivery or the tone of his voice and the attitude. I don’t have the same attitude as him.”
He also jokingly compared Liam’s voice to “10 shots of tequila on a Friday night” and his as “half a Guinness on a Tuesday”.
Additional reporting by dpa
