Oasis is back. The band’s feuding brothers, Liam and Noel Gallagher, have settled their differences, almost 15 years after a backstage brawl ended one of the most iconic bands of the 1990s.
In what is expected to be the biggest music event of 2025, Oasis announced a wave of shows in Britain and Ireland, with a host of fans preparing to battle for tickets when they go live on Saturday morning.
The presale, which closes at 8pm on Wednesday, has been swamped with an “extremely high number of entries”, the band’s website said after they launched a ballot for tickets.
That wave of potential early buyers had to jump through a few hoops before they could sign up, including being quizzed about their Oasis fandom.
Oasis called out ticket sellers, known as ‘touts’, in their pre-sale message and had questions to scare them and perhaps even regular concertgoers.
Fans were asked how many times they had seen the band, who last took to the stage at the V Festival in 2009, although vendors confirmed this would not affect respondents’ chances of getting the vote.
However, the band also wanted to test fans’ trivia. A multiple-choice question asked buyers to name the group’s original drummer.
A quick Google search in a separate tab can quickly alert unaware fans (it’s Tony McCarroll, by the way). But the series of questions asked before access to the vote was allowed echoes a debate that has flared up online since Oasis announced the reunion: should only ‘real’ fans buy a ticket?
The generational debate continues
Since Oasis split almost fifteen years ago, several imitators of the iconic Britpop era have come to the fore to satisfy fans looking for their ’90s music. Liam and Noel have embarked on their own projects, usually playing famous Oasis songs during their sets.
Oasis’ Britpop rivals Blur have remained largely intact this century, playing to a sold-out crowd at Wembley last year.
Catfish and the Bottlemen, one of the Oasis-inspired bands, are likely to curse their luck after booking a big gig at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the same night that Oasis are due to perform one of their shows in the city at Wembley.
However, Oasis have also found favor with a new wave of younger fans, who have more widely embraced the band’s music and ’90s culture since they split in 2009.
These fans have helped spark a debate on social media about who deserves tickets to their reunion.
Older Gen
Imagine waiting 15 years for Oasis to reform, only to lose tickets to 21-year-old Chloe from Stockport, who just wants to hear Wonderwall live. #oasisreunion
— Billy Corcoran (@BillyCorcoran) August 26, 2024
The position has been largely ridiculed online, with others claiming that those who never had the chance to see Oasis perform should be the first
Despite the bickering, both groups agree on who their main enemy is: ticket sellers.
Resellers in the spotlight
There is huge anticipation that Oasis tickets will become the latest hit on the resale sites that have become a blight on the modern concert experience.
Beyonce and Taylor Swift have been big performers in recent years, getting their tickets listed for thousands of dollars on resale sites like Viagogo and StubHub.
Last year, Viagogo Global MD Cris Miller defended the model, which was heavily criticized within and outside the industry.
“Buyers make their own decisions,” Miller said. “If they see a ticket there that is out of their price range or their comfort zone, don’t buy it.”
Hoteliers in the cities hosting Oasis concerts are also reportedly being criticized canceling previous reservations on nights of the concerts before being offered again at a huge premium.
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