Last weekend I got to see Liam Gallagher perform at Reading Festival. After he sang a set entirely made up of Oasis songs, and weeks after renewed talk of a reunion, the band confirmed what we’d all been waiting for: a full on Oasis reunion.
Oasis changed my life. It sounds dramatic, but it’s true. I got into them as a young teen, and the music spoke to me like nothing I’d ever heard before. As a British Indian, who grew up in West London, my childhood was soundtracked by diverse genres, but guitar music was not one of them. My mum listened to Indian music and ‘dad music’ meant something entirely different to me. My dad listened to dub reggae, funk and house music. I didn’t discover rock bands until I was 12 years old.
It was 2007 and I’d just started secondary school. I remember flicking through music video channels after school when I saw Liam Gallagher suspended on a chair in sunglasses in the “Live Forever” music video. “Maybeeeee I don’t really wanna know, how your garden grows ‘cause I just want to fly”, he sang. I was hooked.
I quickly worked my way through their discography, borrowing Oasis CDs from my best friend’s dad, and spent my spare time watching Oasis interviews and live performances, entertained by everything about the Gallagher brothers. The way they dressed, the way they talked and most importantly their music. I was obsessed. They were also my gateway into other band music, by the likes of The Beatles, Black Sabbath, The Stone Roses and many more.
I decided I had to start a band, so I taught myself the guitar. I’d watch tutorials on YouTube from an Australian man called Pete who ran an Oasis fan page called Pete’s Musical Oasis on Facebook. By this time in my life, I’d made friends with some Oasis fans, but most of my friend group were more into pop. They thought I was crazy for being that obsessed and some of them did not get why I was so into them. It was actually quite fashionable at the time to slag them off.
Through that group I was able to connect with fellow fans from across the world. We shared covers of Oasis songs, discussed performances, and created a strong community. I’m still close friends with someone I met on the internet through a shared love for Oasis.
After learning every Oasis song on the guitar (they’re not that hard) I hung up my rockstar boots and had my sights set on journalism instead. I’d read interviews with the Gallagher brothers in music magazines like the NME and I dreamt of interviewing them myself one day. This inspired me to go into the career I work in today, and I am forever grateful.
I haven’t had the chance to interview either of the Gallaghers but I have met both of them separately. I used to hand out flyers in Camden Town when I was a university student, and I saw Noel Gallagher walking down the street. It was fate. I stopped him for a chat and he politely asked about my life and plans after university. I told him about wanting to be a journalist, and I remember asking him for a cigarette to maximise conversation time with him. I didn’t even smoke!
A few years later I met Liam. It was my first ever visit to Manchester, and I was there to see The Stone Roses. As I walked out of the train station a Liam Gallagher lookalike caught my eye. He was walking down the road with that famous swing in his step in an orange parka. I quickly realised that it was actually him. He was on his way to the concert too and we had a brief chat before parting ways.
Despite meeting the key members of Oasis, I never got the chance to see them live. I went to V festival in 2009, dressed in an Oasis t-shirt, bucket hat and a parka, but they never showed up for their headline set. Five days later they announced their split. I was devastated. I’d spent hundreds on the ticket, and it felt like my whole life was building up to that moment.
Years went by and Oasis fans like myself dreamt of a reunion. Liam started his band Beady Eye, and Noel toured as Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. I would go to see both of them when I got the chance, as they both played Oasis songs in their sets. It was the closest I got to experiencing Oasis and it was great. Crowds united in the masses to relive the Oasis days, and we all wished for the same thing.
Rumours of reunions were always bubbling, but we all learnt not to get our hopes up. After all, Noel made it clear that he would never do it and we got used to Liam’s cryptic social media posts.
But last week my phone was flooded with text messages from friends. “Is it happening?” They’d ask me. Strong rumours of a reunion circulated in the press. I didn’t believe it.
Seeing the response from the confirmed reunion has been overwhelming to say the least. The whole world is excited about it, and it feels like we’re all uniting. Everyone from Gen Z school kids to old Oasis dads have been celebrating online, and if the crowd at Liam’s gig at Reading Festival is anything to go by, we’ll see a huge mix of fans at these upcoming shows. Even the people who made fun of me for liking the band were posting about the news.
Not only does the reunion offer a chance for people like me to finally see their favourite band, it’s also a chance to relive the good old days. 90s nostalgia is in, haven’t you heard?
Naturally I have a few concerns. Will I even get tickets? Will the brothers fall out before the tour? Fans are also keen to know how this all came about and whether it’s here to stay. Have they really reconciled? Will there be new music? There’s so much to wonder.
For now all we can do is hold tight and try to get tickets, but on a larger scale this marks the return of one of the world’s greatest bands and I can’t contain my excitement.
