LONDON — Nearly three decades after Oasis' cultural and commercial peak, the Gallagher brothers — songwriter/guitarist Noel and singer Liam — are making headlines around the world again, following the shock announcement that the long-rivalring siblings will reunite for a series of huge outdoor shows in the UK and Ireland next year.
In the UK, anticipation for the band's return has been building since rumors began circulating several weeks ago that the brothers had buried the hatchet after a 15-year war of words and were set to return. The band broke up in 2009 when Noel quit before a show at the French music festival Rock en Seine after a row with Liam.
Oasis fans' wildest dreams came true on Tuesday (August 27) with the announcement that the band will play a massive 14-date UK and Ireland stadium tour next summer, dubbed 'Oasis Live '25'.
“The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The long wait is over. Come and see. It will not be televised,” Oasis boldly said in a statement, sparking feverish news coverage in their home country and beyond has reignited interest in the Britpop-era rock act.
Pre-sale tickets for the tour opened on the same day. 48 hours later the band announced three additional concert dates due to “unprecedented demand”.
The extra gigs mean Oasis will now play five nights at London's 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium, five nights at their hometown Heaton Park in Manchester (capacity 80,000) and three shows at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium (capacity 67,000). as well as two shows at Croke Park, Dublin (83,000 attendance) and two shows at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff (74,000).
With tickets expected to sell out quickly when they go on sale on Saturday (August 31), Oasis look set to perform to around 1.3 million people across the 17-show run, according to Bulletin boardhis calculations.
This puts the band's live comeback on a similar level to Taylor Swift's recent UK and Ireland leg of her 'Eras Tour', which featured 18 sold-out stadium shows, including eight nights at Wembley Stadium – new record for solo singer at the venue. The estimated total attendance for Swift's UK shows was 1.2 million, not including her three shows at Dublin's Aviva Stadium.
With Oasis live tickets priced between £65.00 ($85.00) and £250.00 ($330.00), excluding fees, Bulletin board estimates that the tour — jointly promoted by Live Nation, SJM Concerts, MCD and DFC — could earn the band around £200 million ($262 million) from ticket sales alone (based on an average ticket price £150.00). When VIP and premium packages, merchandise, sponsorships, performance rights and future filming revenue are factored into the total earnings, it's likely to be at least double that amount, according to the talent agent Jonathan Shalitposting on X before the three additional concert dates were announced.
FINANCIALLY UNTRUSTED
“It's a once-in-a-generation moment for many music fans to experience an iconic rock band that holds a very special place in many people's hearts. It's also going to be a really big financial moment for the country and the music industry.” Tom Killsays the chief executive of umbrella trade organization UK Music Bulletin board.
In 2023, 19.2 million 'music tourists' — defined by UK Music as someone traveling outside their home town or city for a concert or visiting from overseas — attended live concerts and festivals in the UK, an increase of 33 % over the previous year, generating 8 billion pounds ($10.3 billion) for the country's economy.
Susanna Streeterhead of money and markets at investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, says the frenzy of interest in an Oasis comeback ensures it will generate big revenue for hotels, taxis, bars, restaurants and pubs in cities where the band are showing “a significant boost to the UK economy'.
The UK leg of Swift's 'Eras Tour' was estimated to have earned £1 billion ($1.3 billion) for the UK economy, according to an analysis by Barclays bank, based on Swifties spending £848 ($1,100 dollars) for tickets, travel. accommodation, clothing and other expenses.
“While Oasis fans may not reach those lofty heights, they're unlikely to hold back from gobbling up the cash to celebrate the brothers' return,” says Streeter. Bulletin board.
In Oasis' hometown of Manchester, the band's five concerts will bring more than £15 million ($19.7 million) to the local economy, he says Sasha Lordcity night economy consultant and founder of the Parklife music festival.
WILL A RISING TIDE LIFT ALL BOATS?
Alongside the financial benefits, live executives hope the surge in interest in Oasis will boost support for the struggling UK music sector, where the band cut their teeth in the early 1990s but has experienced a wave of closures small spaces in the decades since.
According to the Music Venue Trust (MVT), less than 150 grassroots venues have closed or stopped playing live music in the UK in 2023. Of the 15 venues Oasis played on their first tour, nine were reported to have closed or are no longer performing concerts.
To stem the tide of small venue closures, live managers are pushing the UK government to reduce sales tax (VAT) on tickets for all music shows from 20% to the European average of between 5-7%. Doing so “will mean more shows and festivals, thriving venues of all sizes and [help] the next world-class superstars from the UK talent pipeline,” he says John CollinsCEO of UK music organization LIVE.
“The Oasis reunion is a huge moment not only for the fans, but for the live music industry as well.” Andrew Foginhead of global music at ticketing company DICE, says Bulletin board. “These high-profile, beloved artists serve as a catalyst to get people out more. They don't just draw crowds to massive stadium events, they also remind people of what makes live music so special, creating benefits for the rest of the industry.”
As for the Gallaghers themselves, they stand to earn quite a windfall even before a single ticket is sold. On the back of Tuesday's reunion announcement, Oasis' Spotify streams jumped 690% worldwide, the streaming service says, with some of the band's lesser-known songs like “Turn Up The Sun” and “The Swamp Song” enjoying particularly large peaks (450%-plus) in the UK The band has more than 24 million monthly listeners on Spotify with their most popular song, “Wonderwall”, having been streamed more than 2 billion times in total.
On TikTok, Oasis has seen a 101% increase in video views, creations and user engagement over the past seven days, with #OasisReunion getting 109 million video views over the past two weeks, the platform reports. (Bulletin board understands that Sony Music owns the master rights to the entire Oasis catalog, which it assigns to the band's label Big Brother Recordings, with the exception of the last album in 2008 Unearth your soulwhich Sony does not own).
“Oasis has always been popular on TikTok and the news of the reunion took it to another level,” he says. Adam Readdirector of music programs for TikTok in the UK and Ireland. “Fans have been celebrating in typically creative ways, whether dressing up as Liam Gallagher-in-waiting [for] classic Oasis tracks sold or remixed into unique TikTok videos. We're excited to see how the community will continue to be creative with the band's catalog on the platform.”
So far, the only live dates announced by Oasis are 17 dates in the UK and Ireland, although the fact that the band are calling their exit a 2025 world tour suggests that international dates are likely to follow, including possible shows in the US . It is expected that additional UK dates could be announced if the initial ticket allocation sells out quickly, although the band have made it clear that they will not be playing next year's Glastonbury festival as previously rumoured.
“Oasis were the last big band of the pre-digital era,” enthuses Kiehl. “There's legendary status and there's a whole new generation of Oasis fans who've never seen them live, as well as all their original fans from the 90s, so their return will be a really big moment for the music industry and live music”.
