Inside Oasis’ dramatic reunion from wrangles over new bandmates to late night calls and the promise of £400m payday
ROCK band Oasis are reuniting after Noel and Liam Gallagher ended their 15-year feud over the phone.
The brothers, whose debut album Definitely Maybe is 30 years old this week, are set for comeback gigs next summer — raking in £400million.
A source said: “This reunion will go down in music history.”
Liam sparked a frenzy over the band’s reunion by tweeting: “I never did like that word former.”
His heavy hint that the rock band are getting back together came after he buried the hatchet with brother Noel following a 15-year feud.
The Sun can reveal they decided to launch a £400million comeback during a series of phone calls.
Huge live concerts across the UK next year are due to be announced this week.
A source said: “Noel and Liam are never going to be the best of friends but they want to bring Oasis back for the fans.
“They aren’t getting any younger and the demand is huge. They decided it was now or never.
“Noel dug his heels in for a long time but has finally caved and agreed to return.
“He spoke to Liam on the phone and they are on the same page.
“They know this reunion will go down in music history.”
Music industry expert Professor Jonathan Shalit OBE, chairman of talent agency InterTalent, told The Sun the reunion could easily rake in more than £400million.
He said: “With tickets, sponsorship, merchandise and filming, I would predict an income for Noel and Liam of over £50million each.
“This is a tour that could easily gross over £400million.”
Liam, who last night headlined Reading Festival, ramped up the excitement yesterday when he told his 3.6 million X followers: “I never did like that word former.”
Speculation had started to swirl on Friday when Liam, 51, quickly deleted a post about his brother Noel, 57, saying: “Let’s not fall out before it’s even begun.”
No other original Oasis member is expected to join the reunion.
Instead the members of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will step in for the concerts.
It was understood senior bosses at top UK ticket firms had signed non-disclosure agreements to stop news of the gigs getting out.
A staff member also claimed leave has been banned for the next few weeks due to the predicted demand for tickets.
London’s Wembley Stadium and Heaton Park in the Gallaghers’ home city of Manchester were rumoured to be lined up.
Glasgow and Cardiff could also host concerts.
If the tour is a hit it could be expanded to European and American cities.
Glastonbury Festival chiefs have also told the band a headline spot at next summer’s event is theirs.
Industry insiders think the success of Taylor Swift’s multi-billion pound Eras tour has encouraged other artists to follow suit.
A source said: “Taylor Swift has shown how much you can make from these tours and others are thinking, ‘I want a piece of that’.”
It was understood that Oasis tickets will start from around £130.
A music insider explained: “The demand for these concerts will be like nothing anyone has seen before.
“The ticket websites are bracing themselves because they know millions will be desperate to secure the chance to see Oasis.
“People in the UK and around the world have been waiting for this chance for years.”
HOW LONG CAN IT LAST?
NOEL and Liam’s feuding stretches back 30 years and is among music’s best known. Here’s a recap.
September 1994: Noel temporarily quits after Liam throws a tambourine at him.
Summer 1995: While recording (What’s The Story) Morning Glory, Noel reportedly hits Liam over the head with a cricket bat.
August 1996: Liam pulls out an MTV Unplugged gig, heckling his going solo brother from the audience.
May 2000: After Liam questions the legitimacy of Noel’s daughter Anais, he quits again. He returned, but did not complete their European tour.
June 2005: At the Heineken Jammin’ Festival in Italy, Liam leaves the stage during Champagne Supernova. Noel tells Spin magazine: “He’s actually frightened to death of me.”
April 2009: Noel calls Liam “the angriest man you’ll ever meet” in Q mag, adding: “He’s like a man with a fork in a world of soup”.
August 2009: Oasis pull out ‘V’ Festival gig at the last minute. Liam reportedly had laryngitis but Noel claims he’s “hungover”.
Late August 2009: As the band prepare to play in Paris a row breaks out and, as we reported, Liam wields Noel’s guitar “like an axe”. The tour is axed. Noel states: “It’s with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis.”
June 2017: After the Manchester terror attack Liam slates Noel for not attending the Old Trafford tribute gig. Noel’s camp say he was out the country.
Bookmaker Coral suspended any betting on an Oasis reunion after Liam joked with fans online.
When one replied to an article about a rumoured gig location saying “Heaton Park [is] terrible”, Liam declared: “See you down the front you big f***y.”
Their reconciliation will be a shock to fans after years of bickering and snide remarks.
But The Sun understands the brothers are on better terms than they have been for decades.
Noel raised eyebrows last week with rare praise of Liam in an interview ahead of this week’s 30th anniversary of the release of debut album Definitely Maybe in 1994.
He said: “I can’t sing Slide Away and Cigarettes & Alcohol and Rock ’n’ Roll Star and Columbia.
“I can do it but it’s not the same.
“It’s the delivery or the tone of his voice and the attitude.
“I don’t have the same attitude as him.”
Likening their voices to drinks, he continued: “Liam’s is a shot of tequila, right, and mine’s half a Guinness. Mine’s half a Guinness on a Tuesday. It’s alright.
“Liam’s is ten shots of tequila on a f***ing Friday night.”
He added: “When I’d sing a song it would sound good, when he’d sing it, it would sound great.”
Oasis will officially announce the reunion news in the coming days, with Wednesday marking 15 years since Noel quit the band.
Their last concert together was V Festival at Weston Park, Staffordshire, in August 2009.
Days later, the band cancelled a headline gig at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris shortly before they were due to perform, following an argument backstage.
Noel explained: “It’s with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight.
“People will write and say what they like but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.”
Liam and Noel’s reconciliation will no doubt please their mother Peggy, who said in 2011: “I want my sons to sort it out.”
Noel’s ex-wife Sara MacDonald, who he divorced last year after 12 years of marriage, was said to be staunchly against an Oasis reunion due to her dislike of Liam.
Brother’s reconciliation
Liam formed the band in Manchester in 1991 with guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs, bassist Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan and drummer Tony McCarroll.
He later asked Inspiral Carpets roadie Noel to complete the line-up.
They signed a deal with Creation Records in 1993 and released debut album Definitely Maybe in 1994.
It swiftly became the fastest-selling debut album in UK history and has shifted 8.5 million copies globally.
The follow-up, 1995’s (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? has sales of more than 17.5 million.
In total Oasis have scored eight No1 albums and topped the singles charts eight times with hits including Don’t Look Back In Anger, Lyla and Some Might Say.
The group are still revered by millions of young fans who were not even born in their heyday.
They have 21.6 million monthly listeners on Spotify — almost double that of Britpop rivals Blur.
Noel and Liam have also proved popular as solo artists, with Liam headlining the weekend’s Reading and Leeds Festivals.
Demand for their comeback is expected to outstrip even their two shows at Knebworth in 1996, when 2.5 million applied for tickets.
Aside from Liam and Noel, none of their original bandmates is expected to be part of the reunion.
But Gem Archer, who played rhythm guitar with Oasis from 1999, is set to join up along with drummer Chris Sharrock — with the group in 2008 and 2009.
They have both remained close to Noel and have performed with his High Flying Birds for several years.
They were also in Liam’s Beady Eye.
Another music insider said: “Noel wants the reunion to be with his band, High Flying Birds.
“There have been disagreements over the years with various people who performed with Oasis.
“But Noel really rates the musicians who he plays with now and that was part of the deal when it came to agreeing the comeback.”
Fallings-out with original drummer Tony McCarroll and his replacement Alan White mean they are unlikely to be involved.
Noel stopped speaking to bassist Andy Bell after quitting the group.
But relations have since thawed and his group Ride supported Noel at a show in Taunton last summer.
Liam performed a 12-date tour for Definitely Maybe’s anniversary in June and earlier this year admitted Noel had turned down an offer to join him.
Oasis were approached for a comment.
Stars who got back together
THE BEATLES: FOURTEEN years after the death of John Lennon in 1980, surviving members Paul, George and Ringo reunited for The Beatles Anthology project.
SPICE GIRLS: POSH, Scary, Baby, Sporty and Ginger topped the charts in the ’90s, but Geri Halliwell left in 1998. They got back together in 2007.
ABBA: THE Swedish megastars rose to prominence after winning 1974’s Eurovision with Waterloo. They made their last album in 1981 but returned with ninth LP Voyage in 2021.
TAKE THAT: THE boy band rose to fame in the ’90s, releasing their biggest hit single Back For Good in 1995. But they split up a year later, returning without Robbie Williams in 2005 with new single, Patience.