Oasis to play first gig in Manchester for nearly 16 years
By George Thompson and Lauren Del Fabbro, PA
Oasis will play their first gig in Manchester for nearly 16 years on Friday.
After kicking off their highly anticipated world tour in Cardiff last week, the group will return to their roots for five sold-out shows at Heaton Park in their home city.
Leading up to the concert, the city made it known that Gallagher brothers Liam and Noel were back, after the tram network replaced its announcement voiceover at Heaton Park with Liam’s voice on the concert dates.
Aldi supermarket also joined the fun, building on the buzz by changing one of its store signs in Prestwich to “Aldeh”, embracing the Mancunian pronunciation of its name.
The reunion announcement came after had Noel quit the Britpop band, saying he “simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer”, following a backstage brawl at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris in 2009.
The brothers announced the Oasis Live ’25 tour last August, starting with two dates in Cardiff, before heading across the UK and Ireland.
While fans were excited at the reunion, some were left outraged after some standard tickets in the UK and Ireland jumped from €150 to €400.
The controversy prompted the British government and the UK’s competition watchdog to pledge to look at the use of dynamic pricing.
After their Manchester gigs Oasis will visit London’s Wembley Stadium, Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium and Dublin’s Croke Park throughout July, August and September.
The group will then head to Japan, South Korea, South America, Australia and North America.
A movie produced by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is being made in conjunction with the reunion tour.
Formed in Manchester in 1991, the rock band was led by lead guitarist Noel and his brother, lead vocalist Liam, during their 18 years together.
Oasis signed to independent record label Creation Records in 1993, rising to fame with the release of their debut chart-topping album Definitely Maybe on August 29th, 1994.
They had hits with songs including Don’t Look Back In Anger, Champagne Supernova, Wonderwall and Live Forever.
Dig Out Your Soul, the band’s last studio album, was released in 2008, just months before the Paris row.