CARDIFF, Wales (AP) — Oasis ended a 16-year hiatus on Friday with a punchy, powerful trip through one of Britpop's greatest songbooks, kicking off a reunion tour in Cardiff, Wales to a crowd ecstatic for the band's 1990s hits.
And was there brotherly love between the famously feuding Gallagher siblings? Definitely maybe.
Liam's swagger is undimmed
Fans traveled to the Welsh capital from around the world for a show that many thought would never happen. Noel and Liam Gallagher, the heart of Oasis, had not performed together since the band's acrimonious split in 2009.
One fan banner summed it up: “The great wait is over.”
After a montage of headlines about the sparring siblings was capped with the words “the guns have fallen silent,” Oasis appeared on stage to a deafening roar, opening with the apt “Hello” and its refrain of “it’s good to be back.”
The brothers had a brief hand-in-hand moment but largely kept their distance onstage. Noel, 58, focused on his guitar while a parka-clad Liam, 52, snarled into the microphone with a swagger that has not dimmed in the three decades since the band released its first album, “Definitely Maybe.”
A crowd of more than 60,000 in the Principality Stadium was treated to a well-paced two-hour set that drew heavily on the first album and its 1995 followup, “(What's the Story) Morning Glory,” alongside a smattering of later tracks and fan-favorite B-sides.
Song like “Supersonic,” “Roll With It” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” sounded as thunderous as ever and sparked mass sing-alongs.
“Turn around,” a tambourine-clutching Liam exhorted the crowd before launching into “Cigarettes and Alcohol," another classic. “Put your arms over each other like you love each other."
There was poignancy on “Live Forever” when an image of Liverpool Football Club player Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car crash on Thursday, was projected above the band.
Noel took his turn on lead vocals for several songs, including the touching “Half the World Away,” and the show ended with encores featuring some of Oasis' most enduring tracks: “Don't Look Back in Anger,” “Wonderwall” and “Champagne Supernova.”
Multicolored, sometimes faintly psychedelic projections formed the main technological accoutrement to a show where the focus was squarely on the songs. There was little banter, though Liam paused between songs to check the audience was having a good time.
“Was it worth the 40,000 pounds you paid for the ticket?” he asked at one point, referring to the scramble for seats that saw some fans pay hundreds to see a show.
From the roar of the crowd, it was.
‘Very, very special’
The show in Cardiff kicked off a 19-date Live '25 tour in the U.K. and Ireland. Then come stops in North America, South America, Asia and Australia, ending in Sao Paulo on Nov. 23.
Before the show, the streets around the stadium filled with fans who gathered in groups to sing along to the band's hits and snapped up Oasis-branded bucket hats at 35 pounds ($48) each.
“It’s very, very special — emotional," said 44-year old Rob Maule from Edinburgh, Scotland. "I’m here with three of my friends, childhood friends, and we used to see Oasis across the country.
“For us, it’s a generational thing. It’s a chapter of our lives," he said. "And then the second generation, as people are taking their kids. It’s really special.”
Vicki Moynehan came from Dorchester, in southwest England. She said her life has changed since she bought her ticket almost a year ago.
“Seven months pregnant — ain’t gonna stop me,” she said.
Sing-along rock choruses
Founded in the working-class streets of Manchester, England, in 1991, Oasis was one of the dominant British acts of the 1990s, releasing eight U.K. No. 1 albums.
The band’s sound was fueled by sing-along rock choruses and the combustible chemistry between guitarist-songwriter Noel Gallagher — a Beatles and glam rock-loving musician with a knack for memorable tunes — and younger brother Liam.
Then and since, the brothers have often traded barbs — onstage, in the studio and in interviews. Liam once called Noel “tofu boy,” while Noel branded his brother “the angriest man you’ll ever meet. He’s like a man with a fork in a world of soup.”
They long resisted pressure to reunite, even with the promise of a multimillion-dollar payday.
Now they have agreed on a tour that sees hem joined by former Oasis members Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs and Gem Archer on guitar, bassist Andy Bell and drummer Joey Waronker.
'An absolute unbelievable blast'
The announcement of the U.K. tour in August sparked a ticket-buying frenzy, complete with error messages, hourslong online queues, dashed hopes and anger at prices that surged at the last minute.
Some fans who waited online for hours at the Ticketmaster site complained that they ended up paying 355 pounds ($485) for regular standing tickets instead of the expected 148 pounds ($202).
The ticketing troubles sparked questions in U.K. Parliament, where Arts Minister Chris Bryant criticized “practices that see fans of live events blindsided by price hikes.” Britain’s competition regulator has since threatened Ticketmaster — which sold around 900,000 Oasis tickets — with legal action.
No plans have been announced for Oasis to record any new music, and the tour is being presented as a one-off.
Music writer John Aizlewood said that it’s an opportunity for Oasis to “tend the legacy” of the band, and remind people of the power of the Oasis brand.
“There should be a sense of huge joy and life affirmation about these shows. And I think if they can just play it right, then that can be a massive burnishing of their legacy,” he said. “(There is) this enduring love for Oasis — and love means money.”
Fans were determined to enjoy the moment.
“I’m the oldest sibling of four brothers, so I know they’ll fall out,” said Stephen Truscott, from Middlesbrough in northeast England. "(But) the first night, they’re going to have an absolute unbelievable blast. It’s going to be the best.”
Jill Lawless, The Associated Press
