Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher has hit out at fans apparently complaining about the support acts booked so far for the rock band’s long-awaited reunion tour.
In 2025, the famously outspoken singer will reunite onstage with his older brother Noel for the first time in 16 years, when they will play a string of stadium shows around the UK and Ireland, North America and Australia.
This week, it was confirmed that the Manchester-formed band’s UK and Ireland shows will be opened by their long-time friend Richard Ashcroft, solo artist and former frontman for The Verve.
The announcement on Monday (21 October) came after The Independent exclusively revealed that Ashcroft would support Oasis last week.
Oasis have also announced that they will be supported for their North America shows by US rock band Cage the Elephant.
Liam seemed to be irked by some fans questioning the choice, as he posted to X/Twitter the following day: “To all the folk who are crying about us not showing love to the young bands and not letting them support there’s LEVELS to this game and I’m afraid 99 [per cent] of ya are way off.”
Oasis actually supported The Verve back in 1993, before Ashcroft’s band opened for Oasis two years later at The Bataclan in Paris.
Noel was also inspired to write the Oasis hit “Cast No Shadow”, from their second album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory as a tribute to the Lancashire-born singer.
“[Ashcroft] always seemed to me to not be very happy about what was going on around him, almost trying too hard,” he once said in an interview with Select magazine. “I always felt he was born in the wrong place, and he was always trying to say the right things, but they came out wrong.”
The Verve went through their third breakup in 2009 and have not reformed since; Ashcroft has enjoyed a successful solo career, releasing six top 10 albums including 2016’s These People.
In 2021, he shared his sixth solo record Acoustic Hymns Vol 1, a collection of new versions of songs spanning both his solo career and his time in The Verve; Liam joined Ashcroft for a duet of “C’mon People (We’re Making It Now)” from his debut solo album, Alone With Everybody.
Confirming his status as opening act, Ashcroft said in a statement: “As a fan from day one I was buzzing for many reasons when the news of Oasis’s return was announced. I can say with no exaggeration that the songwriting talent of Noel and Liam’s pure spirit as a lead singer helped to inspire me to create some of my best work.
“It was the perfection of ‘Live Forever’ that forced me to try and write my own. They dared to be great, made the dreams we had real and I will always remember those days with joy. Now it’s time to create more memories and I’m ready to bring it. See you next summer. Music is power.”
