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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Rich Pelley

‘It’s like sex ... and we’re the foreplay’: the Oasis tribute bands gearing up for the big reunion

(Clockwise from top) MagicPie, Oasisrael, Boys in the Bubble, Oesis, Maine Road, O.Asis, Oasus, Oasissy, Parklife, Faux-Asis, Noasis.
Fakermakers … (Clockwise from top) MagicPie, Oasisrael, Boys in the Bubble, Oesis, Maine Road, O.Asis, Oasus, Oasissy, Parklife, Faux-Asis, Noasis. Illustration: The Sporting Press/The Guardian

Last August, 14 million people applied for 1.4 million tickets for Oasis’s first gigs in 15 years. In spite of Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing (which pushed some tickets from £150 to £350), the whole lot sold out in minutes. Those lucky enough to get them are counting down the days until July. But in the meantime, business for Oasis tribute bands is booming. Why go all the way to Wembley when you can belt along to an Oasis tribute band in your local pub, metres and not miles away from “Liam” and “Noel”?

There is certainly no shortage of them. Our (rough) count shows at least 40 Oasis cover bands in the UK alone. But Oasis tribute bands are just as popular in Europe, the US, Canada and Japan, where the band have long had a huge following.

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