CARDIFF, Wales (AP) — One fan banner summed it up: “The great wait is over.”
Tens of thousands of Oasis fans thronged the streets of Cardiff, Wales, on Friday, where the Britpop-era rockers were kicking off a hotly, and somewhat anxiously, anticipated .
The return of the band behind “Wonderwall,” “Supersonic” and “Champagne Supernova,” after a 16-year hiatus, was a major moment for fans.
Will it be a storming success? Definitely maybe. Predictions are tricky when it comes to Noel and Liam Gallagher, the who give Oasis its charisma, and its volatile chemistry.
“That’s one of the attractions about Oasis — they bring this element of risk,” author and music journalist John Aizlewood said. He said that the “alternative aura that they have cultivated with the age-old pop story of fractious brothers” is part of the band’s appeal.
‘Very, very special’
Unless the brothers’ combustible relationship derails proceedings, two nights at Cardiff’s 70,000-capacity Principality Stadium on Friday and Saturday raise the curtain on a 19-date Live ’25 tour in the U.K. and Ireland. Then come stops in , ending in Sao Paulo on Nov. 23.
Warming up the crowd were two Britpop era acts: Liverpool band Cast — who dedicated the ballad “Walkaway” to Liverpool player , who was killed in a car crash on Thursday — and former The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft, whose stirring song “The Drugs Don’t Work” got fans in a suitably 1990s mood.
Many ticketholders who traveled to the Welsh capital from as far away as Australia grew up with Oasis and have waited years for this moment. Before the show, the streets around the stadium filled with fans who gathered in groups to sing along to the band’s hits and snapped up Oasis-branded bucket hats at 35 pounds ($48) each.
“It’s very, very special — emotional,” said 44-year old Rob Maule from Edinburgh, Scotland. “I’m here with three of my friends, childhood friends, and we used to see Oasis across the country.
“For us, it’s a generational thing. It’s a chapter of our lives,” he said. “And then the second generation, as people are taking their kids. It’s really special.”
Vicki Moynehan came from Dorchester, in southwest England. She said her life has changed since she bought her ticket almost a year ago.
“Seven months pregnant — ain’t gonna stop me,” she said.
Singalong rock choruses
Founded in the working-class streets of Manchester, England, in 1991, Oasis released its debut album, “Definitely Maybe” in 1994, and it became one of the dominant British acts of the 1990s, releasing eight U.K. No. 1 albums and producing hits including “Live Forever,” “Roll With It” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger.”
The band’s sound was fueled by singalong rock choruses and the combustible chemistry between guitarist-songwriter Noel Gallagher — a Beatles and glam rock-loving musician with a knack for memorable tunes — and younger brother Liam, a front man of compelling swagger and style.
Then and since, the brothers have often traded barbs — onstage, in the studio and in interviews. Liam once called Noel “tofu boy,” while Noel branded his brother “the angriest man you’ll ever meet. He’s like a man with a fork in a world of soup.”
Oasis finally split in 2009, with Noel Gallagher quitting the band after a backstage dustup with Liam at a festival near Paris.
The Gallagher brothers, now ages 58 and 52, respectively, haven’t performed together since, though both regularly play Oasis songs at their solo gigs.
They long resisted pressure to reunite, even with the promise of a multimillion-dollar payday — though Liam sounded more open to the idea. The singer that Noel “thinks I’m desperate to get the band back together for money. But I didn’t join the band to make money. I joined the band to have fun and to see the world.”
Now they have agreed on a tour that will see them joined — if reports are right — by former Oasis members Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs and Gem Archer on guitar, bassist Andy Bell and drummer Joey Waronker.
‘An absolute unbelievable blast’
The announcement of the U.K. tour in August sparked a , complete with error messages, hourslong online queues, dashed hopes and anger at prices that surged at the last minute.
Some fans who waited online for hours at the Ticketmaster site complained that they ended up paying 355 pounds ($485) for regular standing tickets instead of the expected 148 pounds ($202).
The ticketing troubles sparked questions in U.K. Parliament, where Arts Minister Chris Bryant criticized “practices that see fans of live events blindsided by price hikes.” Britain’s competition regulator has since threatened Ticketmaster — which sold around 900,000 Oasis tickets — with legal action.
No plans have been announced for Oasis to record any new music, and the tour is being presented as a one-off.
Aizlewood said that it’s an opportunity for Oasis to “tend the legacy” of the band, and remind people of the power of the Oasis brand.
“There should be a sense of huge joy and life affirmation about these shows. And I think if they can just play it right, then that can be a massive burnishing of their legacy,” he said. “(There is) this enduring love for Oasis — and love means money.”
Fans were determined to enjoy the moment.
“I’m the oldest sibling of four brothers, so I know they’ll fall out,” said Stephen Truscott, from Middlesbrough in northeast England. “(But) the first night, they’re going to have an absolute unbelievable blast. It’s going to be the best.”
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