What’s The Story? Oasis is Back

 

 What’s The Story? Oasis is Back

Kieran Beville

Love them or loathe them Oasis is back! Last year speculation that a reunion of the Gallagher brothers was imminent had reached fever pitch before it was confirmed that the band will play at Croke Park (as part of their England and Ireland tour) for two consecutive nights – 16th and 17th August, 2025, with tickets priced from €86.50. Yeah we all know what happened with dynamic pricing!

Rumours of the rival siblings returning to the stage together began when they uncharacteristically started to pay each other compliments. The hostility between the duo is no secret. Some years ago when Noel emerged with his project, ‘High Flying Birds’ Liam disparagingly referred to it as ‘High Flying Turds’. That is just one example of the kind of cut and thrust they traded in the media over the years. In recent days and weeks it has been very different, Liam has been dedicating songs to Noel and Noel in a recent interview said that while his voice was like a half pint of Guinness on a Tuesday, Liam’s was like ten shots of Tequila (apparently intended as praise).

And it’s true, Liam’s vocals on the first three albums from the 90’s is amazing. These boys are gods to many who worship them. They were formed as homage to the Beatles and that inspiration in terms of classic licks is particularly present on the early songs. Some refer to Oasis as a poor imitation of the Beatles, but that is a bit harsh – who can compare to the Fab Four? Oasis continues to be adored by many and abhorred by others.


For some people Oasis is the most overrated band ever – whining vocals, mediocre songs… For certain music aficionados it is puzzling how so many rate them so highly. It is not surprising, therefore, that the haters (as with U2) are flying their flags on social media. Some of it may be light-hearted banter but the vitriolic attacks, by these know-it-all types reveals their arrogance and intolerance for the musical taste of others. Whether you are delighted or dismayed by the news of their return they are going to take Ireland and the UK by storm and one can expect their songs to get a lot of airplay over the next year.

I’m not saying they are one of the greatest rock bands but they are a BAND and that is significant in a music world that has come to be dominated by ‘artists’, especially the female music superstar. In the top 50 songs in the charts (USA in particular) there is not one band. Oasis was one of the last bands to dominate the charts, along with Kasabian. We need to see more bands in the upper echelons of the charts or at least having a strong presence in the album charts. If Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs is included in the band that will be a bonus, as I rate him as a great musician.

In 2005 the top 100 comprised of thirty percent bands and seventy percent artists. In that era we had The White Stripes, Weezer, Coldplay, The Strokes, Linkin Park, The Killers, Foo Fighters, Muse, My Chemical Romance, Green Day, Paramore, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Death Cab, Arcade Fire, Nickelback, NIN, Jimmy Eat World, Gorillaz, All American Rejects, OutKast

Oasis dominated the latter part of the 90s and they were huge in the noughties. This rock ‘n roll band formed in 1991 and produced a string of albums through the mid-1990s and they held Britain and Ireland captive. They came in the wake of the grunge movement and decisively pushed that aside. They had the swagger that people admired. They took on other bands, such as Blur and created the kind of excitement that made them leap from the music pages to the front pages. The first two albums were the great ones and the first of those is 30 years old this year and the second is 30 years old next year.

They were fighting while they were together. Down through the years many bands had their internal squabbles – The Everly Brothers, Jesus and the Mary Chain, The Kinks, The Black Crows…fought and most of them broke up because of the fighting. But lots of siblings get on too, The Bee Gees, The Almonds, The Carpenters. To be honest we loved the fighting.

It has been speculated that they might headline Glastenbury and Slane. This would be interesting because these festival/venues are so iconic. We need a good old rock band to shake things up and Oasis is the band to do it. They will draw not just fans from a previous generation but a host of new/younger fans that grew up listening to and loving their parent’s music. So, ironically Oasis has a family vibe. Oasis offers an opportunity to jettison the auto-tuning nonsense that passes for music. They will shake things up. Let’s rock it up again and don’t look back in anger!

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