Oasis, a 90s Britpop band from Manchester, England, shocked the world by announcing a 2025 reunion tour across the UK and Ireland, marking a historic moment in music history.
Over the course of their music journey, Oasis encountered many shifts in their artist lineup, but iconic members remain the Gallagher brothers, Liam and Noel. During the 90s, Oasis’ work ethic came under scrutiny, as they often made headlines for their disputes among the band members, especially between the Gallagher brothers. In August of 2009, the band played their last gig at the V Festival in Weston Park, and Noel announced that he could no longer work with Liam. For 15 long years, the Gallagher brothers went silent leaving fans distraught until the recent news of the reunion tour broke.
On August 27th, 2024, Oasis posted a video announcing a 2025 reunion tour with the caption, “This is it, this is happening.” Starting July 4th, they are set to perform 19 shows across the UK and Ireland. For many fans, the “what if” of Oasis reuniting had always lingered in the back of their minds, but the announcement still created an explosive response. Liam accompanied the announcement with an X post stating, “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned,” demonstrating the brothers ability to put their differences aside.
I sat down with Mr. Jackson, Wilcox English Teacher and Manchester native, who shared his first reaction to the reunion: “I woke up to a WhatsApp chat with all my friends in England going ‘What’s this all about? Are they getting back together?’ and I was like whoa no way!”
Fans’ reactions were eruptive, but Ticketmaster queues were even more astonishing. Pictures of queues as large as 500,000 in line at once circulated online. Resellers took advantage of the craze, listing tickets for more than ten times the original price. On September 30th, Oasis announced five more show dates in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
Oasis formed in 1991 with original members Paul McGuigan, Paul Arthurs, Tony McCarroll, and Liam Gallagher. After hearing Oasis perform live, Noel joined the band and took the leader position. Noel brought material that shocked the rest of the band, and from there he would continue to write all the music and lyrics for their songs.
For many in Manchester during the 90s, Oasis ignited a wave of nationalism for the English working class. Mr. Jackson grew up in Manchester and was around 13 when he first heard Oasis’ debut album, Definitely Maybe. After buying the record, he explained that, “it spoke to [him] in a way that no music had ever spoken to [him]] before as a working-class kid from Manchester.” The songs on Definitely Maybe described the lives of everyday people, and in that way, many felt like their experiences were directly reflected in the lyrics.
In addition to the down-to-earth lyrics, Manchester locals had an immense amount of pride for Oasis because their local band was being recognized worldwide. Mr. Jackson described how, “there were other English bands but they weren’t really translating on a global scale, and Oasis did…they hit a chord with not just people from Manchester, but people all over England and then people all over the world.” Fast forward to today, people around the world still continue to love and relate to Oasis songs.
The Oasis Reunion will go down in music history as one of the most highly anticipated and most demanded reunions ever. Tickets are already sold out and there are no plans for the events to be televised. Oasis has continued to stay relevant in the present and the reunion tour has only boosted their influence.
