CARDIFF, Wales (AP) — Oasis ended a 16-year hiatus on Friday with a punchy, powerful trip through one of Britpop’s greatest songbooks, kicking off a reunion tour in Cardiff, Wales to a crowd ecstatic for the band’s 1990s hits.
And was there brotherly love between the famously feuding Gallagher siblings? Definitely maybe.
Liam’s swagger is undimmed
Fans traveled to the Welsh capital from around the world for a show that many thought would never happen. Guitarist-songwriter Noel Gallagher and his singer brother Liam, the heart of Oasis, had not performed together since their acrimonious split in 2009.
One fan banner summed it up: “The great wait is over.”
After a montage of headlines about the sparring siblings was capped with the words “the guns have fallen silent,” Oasis appeared on stage to a deafening roar, opening with the apt “Hello” and its refrain of “it’s good to be back.”
The brothers had a brief hand-in-hand moment but largely kept their distance onstage. Noel, 58, focused on his guitar while a parka-clad Liam, 52, snarled into the microphone with a swagger that has not dimmed in the 31 years since the band released its first album, “Definitely Maybe.”
A crowd of more than 60,000 in the Principality Stadium was treated to a well-paced two-hour set that drew heavily on the first album and its 1995 followup, “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory,” alongside a smattering of later tracks and fan-favorite B-sides.
Songs like “Supersonic,” “Roll With It” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” sounded as thunderous as ever and sparked mass sing-alongs.
“Put your arms over each other like you love each other,” a tambourine-clutching Liam exhorted the crowd before launching into “Cigarettes and Alcohol.”
There was poignancy on “Live Forever” when an image of Liverpool Football Club player Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car crash on Thursday, was projected above the band.
Noel took his turn on lead vocals for several songs, including the touching “Half the World Away,” and the show ended with encores featuring some of Oasis’ most enduring tracks: “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” “Wonderwall” and “Champagne Supernova.” The brothers shared a half-hug as they ended the final song.
Multicolored, sometimes faintly psychedelic, projections formed the main technological accoutrement to a show where the focus was squarely on the songs. There was little banter, though Liam paused between songs to check the audience was having a good time.
“Was it worth the 40,000 pounds you paid for the ticket?” he quipped at one point, referring to the scramble for seats that saw some fans pay hundreds to see a show.
From the roar of response, it was.
“Absolutely incredible — best gig I’ve ever been to in my life,” said Nathan Price-Gearey as fans poured out of the stadium.
“It was massive,” said Millie Anderson, another satisfied concertgoer. “When they played ‘Stand by Me,’ I started sobbing my eyes out.”
‘Very, very special’
The show in Cardiff kicked off a 19-date Live ’25 tour in the U.K. and Ireland. Then come stops in North America, South America, Asia and Australia, ending in Sao Paulo on Nov. 23.
The streets around the stadium filled before the concert 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, who came with three childhood friends. “For us, it’s a generational thing. It’s a chapter of our lives. 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.
Sing-along rock choruses
Founded in the working-class streets of Manchester, England, in 1991, Oasis was one of the dominant British acts of the 1990s, releasing eight U.K. No. 1 albums.
The band’s sound was fueled by sing-along 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.
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.”
After a backstage bust up at a concert in France in 2009, they long resisted pressure to reunite, even with the promise of a multimillion-dollar payday.
Now they have agreed on a tour that sees them joined 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 ticket-buying frenzy, complete with error messages, hourslong online queues, dashed hopes and anger at prices that surged at the last minute.
The ticketing troubles sparked questions in the U.K. Parliament and an investigation by Britain’s competition regulator. It has 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.
Music writer John 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 before the show. “(But) the first night, they’re going to have an absolute unbelievable blast. It’s going to be the best.”
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