Halifax or Wembley Stadium? Noel Gallagher finally bowed to calls for an Oasis reunion after his solo career was overshadowed by his brother’s sell-out tour singing the band’s classic hits, insiders have claimed.
Noel, 57, signed up to the £50m run of 14 UK and Ireland shows after his High Flying Birds played their last headline show to a 5,500 crowd at Halifax’s Piece Hall this month.
The elder Gallagher had noted the ecstatic crowd reaction Liam, 51, received on his nationwide arena-filling tour in June, where he performed Oasis’s landmark 1994 debut album, Definitely Maybe.
Noel, who played a mixture of solo material and Oasis songs at Wembley Arena last year, admitted in a recent interview that Liam’s voice possessed a “10 shots of tequila” snarling edge that his lacks.
The reversal of fortunes – Liam had said his career was in tatters after Noel walked out of Oasis in 2009 – which also followed Noel’s reported £20m divorce from former wife Sara MacDonald, helped push the band’s songwriter towards accepting longstanding offers for Oasis to reform, sources claimed.
“Liam showed Noel what he is missing with his Definitely Maybe shows,” a music industry insider said. “Noel’s last solo album (Council Skies) was probably his best but the High Flying Birds have been touring for 13 years and there are diminishing returns.”
The “stars aligned”, as the statement announcing the much-trailed reunion put it.
“Relations had already begun to thaw,” the insider, who was not directly involved in any negotiations, said. “Noel will have wanted to see what was on the table from promoters and first of all the money had to be right.
“He quit Oasis because he thought Liam was unreliable. Noel wants these shows to secure Oasis’s legacy as the greatest rock band in the world. He needs Liam to be in good voice and on top form. The Definitely Maybe shows probably sealed the deal.
“They have to do this whilst they are the right side of 60 and still look like rock stars. Piece Hall is a beautiful venue but can it match multiple nights at Wembley Stadium?”
Alan Edwards, the leading music PR consultant who masterminded reunions by The Spice Girls, The Who and Led Zeppelin, told i: “I saw Noel play the Crystal Palace Bowl last year (capacity 8,000). It was a good show but I thought he could be playing somewhere a lot bigger.”
The Gallaghers have yet to resolve all of their differences – there has been one late night phone call to confirm the reunion and both attended a photo session for the tour’s publicity material. But the duo need not sport Taylor Swift-style friendship bracelets to get through the shows.
“There have been tours where the band members travelled in separate limos and only meet on stage,” said Edwards, whose memoir I Was There details his attempts to negotiate friction between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards while working for The Rolling Stones.
The Gallaghers have yet to reveal which past members of Oasis will share the stage on the lucrative comeback tour, a possible source of contention.
Liam has been joined on stage at his gigs by fan favourite and original guitarist, Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs.
Noel is said to favour members of his High Flying Birds, such as drummer Chris Sharrock, who had filled the seat for Oasis.
“Now Noel and Liam have announced the tour, there can be no walking out on it or they will be on the hook for a huge amount of money,” said Edwards, who added: “I think the brothers will be fine. A lot of their jousting is probably played up for public consumption. Once they get on stage they will probably think, ‘Why did we leave this so long?’”
Noel’s divorce from MacDonald, with whom he has two sons, removed a major obstacle towards a reconciliation with his brother. MacDonald had once described Liam’s Glastonbury set as a “fat twat doing a tribute act” in a social media comment that was later deleted. The interfamily social media hostilities even engulfed Noel’s daughter Anais, from his first marriage to Meg Mathews.
However Liam’s fiancee and co-manager Debbie Gwyther, 42, is seen as a positive influence in healing the rifts.
“Debbie has turned Liam’s life around. She tells it how it is to Liam and he’s had a string of No 1 solo albums and sell-out shows since they met,” an industry observer of their relationship said.
“The reunion means all the Gallagher children can finally come together and see Oasis.”
Another significant factor in bringing the Gallaghers together has been pleas from mother Peggy, 81, to end their feud.
“Peggy wants the family back together before it’s too late,” the observer said. “She has begged the brothers to sort it out.”
Once Noel had agreed in principle to the tour, the wheels moved quickly. Simon Moran, a leading Manchester-based music promoter who had overseen The Stone Roses reunion shows in 2012, and trusted by both Gallaghers, put together the summer 2025 plan.
Due to the scale of the shows, with more dates expected to be added, Moran partnered with Live Nation, the concert promotion giant which owns Ticketmaster.
The tour should secure Oasis’s appeal among Gen Z fans who are discovering the Britpop legends through TikTok, where the song Roll With It has prompted a viral video craze.
They remain a huge draw in the streaming era, with 21.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone and a total of 12 billion streams to date.
Their albums began climbing the chart once again in the hours after the announcement, timed to coincide with a 30th anniversary release of a deluxe version of Definitely Maybe on Friday, featuring unheard versions of the songs which launched Oasis into the public consciousness.
A similar exercise is set to follow next summer, with an updated version of their biggest-selling album, What’s The Story Morning Glory, expected to accompany the live dates.
A warts-and-all film, following rehearsals for the tour, could be another moneyspinner for the band, who said their shows would not be televised, effectively ruling out a Glastonbury headline slot.
There is no new Oasis music currently planned – but the shows need not be a final farewell for the 90s phenomenon. Mr Edwards said: “I did The Who 25 years ago and they’re still going strong. Oasis are young enough to keep going for decades.
“But sometimes money isn’t everything,” he warned. “Led Zeppelin got a massive tour offer the night of their O2 Arena reunion show. But Robert Plant apparently said he’d rather watch Wolverhampton Wanderers.”
Representatives for Noel Gallagher and Oasis were approached for comment.
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