All around the world
The guns have fallen silent.
The stars have aligned.
The great wait is over.
Come see.
It will not be televised.
And with those 21 words, posted on 27 August 2024, the world went into meltdown. Oasis were returning to the stage.
Initially, UK dates were announced. Then, after ticketing systems duly collapsed - and controversy flared around dynamic pricing - it became clear this was never going to be a domestic victory lap. Oasis were intent on taking on the world. North America, Asia, Australia and South America would follow. Forty-one shows. Five continents. Over 2.8 million people.
Oasis had never really gone away, despite going 16 years without playing a gig, but they were back with a vengeance. And it wasn’t just first-time fans keen on a trip down memory lane. A new generation of Oasis gig-goers proved this was a band capable of transcending age effortlessly.
Reports surfaced of fans travelling across continents, cities and hemispheres, chasing tickets wherever they could find them.
Take Victoria Hill, a Melbourne resident who took in five shows across four cities around the globe. “I was lucky enough to secure tickets to gigs in Manchester, London, Melbourne and Sydney. Was it worth it? Hells yeh. Each gig was a totally different experience and with that also came the different t-shirts to remember the gigs and dates forever. Memories that will last a lifetime.”
At the other end of spectrum was 17-year-old Lucas MacDonald, also from Melbourne, who attended one of the local shows alongside Victoria and his favourite uncle.
Just one when Oasis played their last gig, Lucas belted out the classics with gusto and described the experience as “biblical”.
“The tour gave so many young fans like me the chance to hear the music our parents and friends love, live,” he said. “It gave every generation the opportunity to experience the Oasis era together.”
If it ain’t broke...
The setlist remained unchanged throughout the tour, opening with Hello (It’s Good to Be Back) and closing with Champagne Supernova. Twenty-three songs. Twenty-three moments of mass sing-along. As Noel put it one night: “If this is your first Oasis gig and you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be in a stadium full of people singing this, you’re about to find out.”
As the opening chords of Don’t Look Back in Anger rang out - everyone did.
Many fans also experienced the ‘Poznań’ for the first time. As the intro to Cigarettes & Alcohol began, the crowd was encouraged to turn their backs to the stage, arms around the people beside them, jumping in unison before the lyrics kicked in. What began as a protest in Poland had travelled via football terraces to music stadia around the world.
As good as it gets?
It was a performance that had veteran fans purring, with many suggesting it was as good as they’d ever seen the band play. The brothers were cordial, respectful, and focussed. Perhaps age, perspective, less chaos and fewer excesses allowed the music to take centre stage.
As the tour came to a triumphant end in São Paulo, anticipation gave way to memory, and attention turned to what might come next. Rumours of a return to Knebworth to mark the 30th anniversary of those iconic shows briefly gathered steam, before fading just as quickly.
For now, the guns have fallen silent again in a different way. But the appetite remains unmistakable. There is a collective want, need and hope for more of Oasis.
Don’t Look Back in Anger has long been an anthem for generations. It also feels like an apt description of how the Gallagher brothers now view the end of their first chapter. And perhaps, quietly, a hint that the story isn’t finished yet.