Britpop fans have been fiercely speculating about an Oasis reunion since the moment the band dramatically split back in 2009.
Led by the infamously fractious siblings Liam and Noel Gallagher, Oasis were one of the most successful bands in the UK at their peak. After 1994’s Definitely Maybe became the fastest-selling debut in British history at the time, classic follow-ups (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? and Be Here Now also earned their own places in the record books.
The band also jostled with rivals Blur in an entertaining 1995 chart battle now remembered as the Battle of Britpop, and played to a quarter of a million fans at their pair of Knebworth gigs the following year. Incredibly, one in 20 people in the UK applied to secure precious tickets for those era-defining shows.
And once again reunited with his own band Blur – who release new album The Ballad of Darren on July 21 – Damon Albarn says he feels certain that Oasis will return.
“I can guarantee they’re going to reform,” the musician told The Sun. “In fact, I’ve put money on it.”
“They’re brothers and it would be wonderful to see them reconcile,” he added.
The Gallagher brothers, meanwhile, have said a number of conflicting things about the possibility of a reunion over the last fourteen years. The band famously split in public fashion right before they were slated to play the French festival Rock en Seine in 2009, after years of on-stage bust-ups, walk-outs, and tension between the bandmates. “It’s with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight,” Noel wrote on the day of the planned Rock en Seine show in a statement. “People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.”
Four years after quitting, in 2013, Noel shut down speculation again in an interview with Rolling Stone. “We are split up. You’ve heard that, haven’t you?” he said, before adding: “if there is a reunion, I won’t be in it.”
Three years later, Liam began regularly referring to his brother as a “potato”, and also claimed that his bandmate would be a no-show at the premiere of 2016’s Oasis documentary Supersonic because he was “probably eatin’ tofu while havin’ a face peel.”
The rift deepened following Liam’s claims that Noel refused to play a tribute concert at Old Trafford in 2017, held in honour of the 22 victims killed by the terror attack at Manchester Arena. “Play your tunes for the kids you sad f**k,” he tweeted.
More recently, however, the brothers’ views seem to have softened slightly. In 2021, Noel Gallagher responded to rumours that he had been offered £100 million for an Oasis reunion. “I’ll do it for £100 million,” he said, before adding: “There isn’t £100m in the music business between all of us.”
“I’d do it for FREE” responded Liam, writing on fan page Oasis Mania, which was quite sweet really.
This year, meanwhile, Liam responded to a fan on Twitter who asked about the possibility of a reunion: “It’s happening,” he wrote.
Noel also seemed more open to the idea, admitting that he is getting along “brilliantly” with his sibling at the moment and can no longer rule it out. “You should never say never, [but] it would have to take an extraordinary set of circumstances. That’s not to say that those circumstances would never come about.”
We’ll just have to wait and see whether they decide not to look back in anger…
