Genius or overrated? Why the return of Oasis is so divisive

Oasis, the comeback of a legendary duo after a fifteen-year absence

The last time we saw Liam and Noel Gallagher on stage was in 2009 at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris. Well, not exactly… If we are to believe the rumour that has become legend, the siblings got out of control backstage, laying into each other, calling each other names and coming to blows with their guitars, thus leaving thousands of spectators in the lurch. The party’s over, go home.

But last week, the news hit like a bombshell. Oasis, the pioneering band of Britpop, the sultry rock group that shook up England in the 1990s, the punchline professionals and diabolical duo that released hit after hit are finally back together. The Gallagher brothers have announced a fourteen-date summer tour in the UK, starting on July 4th, 2025, in Cardiff, Wales. Despite their antics and the countless disappointed crowds, there is every reason to believe that fanaticism still has a bright future ahead of it.

A rivalry with Blur

Yet, the divide is obvious between music lovers. While some acclaim the genius of the band, others rant about their endless fraud. These criticisms arise as the ticket prices for the tour reach unbelievably high amount, as the outbursts of the two men in the media are endless, and as the accusations of plagiarism that have marked their extraordinary career since their debut in 1991 under the name The Rain – with Liam on vocals, Paul Arthurs on guitar, Paul McGuigan on the bass and Tony McCarroll on the drums, then joined by Noel – resurface.

The problem was that their rivalry with the music band Blur was also internal and undermined the other members’ mood. Everyone knew that Noel and Liam Gallagher couldn’t stand each other. This was already the case in 1996, when Noel, the eldest member of the group, decided to go on tour without his young brother because, after all, he was the one who composed all the songs. Advent of a new era or yet another last ditch effort? Numéro has wondered why the return of Oasis is so divisive.

To the delight of the fans…

Fans are over the moon. Oasis have just announced a comeback after a fifteen-year-long absence. Truth be told, their success was extraordinary. The band’s third album, Be Here Now, released in August 1997, sold almost 700,000 copies in its first week in the UK – a historic record. It wasn’t until 2015 when a certain Adèle and her opus 25 broke that record. But how can this unwavering love be explained?

Numéro spoke to one of their fans to find out: “Liam and Noel Gallagher formed the greatest British rock band of the 1990s. For many of us, it was the decade of our birth. Their authentic Mancunian sound was everywhere, all the time. Oasis really embodied the culture of Manchester. The reason we’re so eager to see them perform live is mainly nostalgia, but also because their comeback marks a cultural high point. We’ve been waiting fifteen years for this… and the day has finally come.”

Airlines line their own pocket

Further proof of the ‘Oasis effect’ is the increase in flight searches to the Welsh city of Cardiff. On Tuesday, August 27th, the day the reunion was announced, airlines saw their searches multiply by 121 in comparison with the same dates recorded earlier in the year. According to travel agency eDreams, internet searches for the destinations hosting the concerts on the tour rose sharply, with an average increase of 2,838% on the day the tour was announced.

Other venues have not been left behind. Manchester increased its searches by 8 last week (+700%), Dublin by 7 (+635%), while Edinburgh (+557%) and London (+212%) also experienced exponential growth following the announcement of the tour. In Europe, Italians were the band’s most fervent fans.

The huge scandal of ticket prices to attend Oasis’ concerts

This unexpected tour does come at a price… and what a price! “I can’t deny that it’s a pretty sensitive topic… I spent six hours online at my computer trying to buy tickets last Saturday. My brother managed to get two pit tickets for £750 [€890]. The price is really outrageous but it mirrors the Gallagher brothers… they just don’t give a fuck,” our die-hard fan confesses.

That’s obviously a different kettle of fish on social media. The controversy has quickly escalated with the wrath of many disappointed fans. At issue here is “dynamic pricing”, a strategy in which flexible prices are set based on current demands, similar to railway companies or football events.

The complaints are so numerous that the British authorities are even getting involved. All the more so since, as usual, some clever ones are having fun reselling tickets they initially bought at £150 (€178) for over £400 (€475). All eyes inevitably turn to Ticketmaster UK, the American monopolistic company specializing in the sale and distribution of tickets for concert and sporting events. The platform defends itself against any accusations, claiming that it has always fought firmly against the resale of tickets.

Oasis, an overrated band for many music lovers

Tape, a programme of the platform Arte Concerts has recently dedicated one of its episodes to Oasis. The publication on social media of this mini-documentary, along with the resulting comment section, sums up the current divide between music lovers. “Reducing Liam Gallagher to a tambourine player is almost criminal when you consider the presence he has behind a mic. He still remains one of the greatest performers of the 1990s,” one user says, while another detractor of the Manchester band writes: “this British band smells imposture to me.”

Another one immediately added: “A good little supermarket pop music produced by two stratospheric egos”. The issues are indeed the odious behavior of the two brothers, who have never stopped insulting each other and criticizing their counterparts in the press, as well as the various accusations of plagiarism that have peppered their careers and the several lawsuits that have followed…

First of all, the song Whatever from their 1994 album Definitely Maybe was accused of being far too inspired by Neil Innes’ How Sweet to Be an Idiot. The wronged artist eventually got a financial compensation. Then the firm Coca-Cola stepped into the ring, claiming that the songwriter Noel Gallagher had heavily drawn inspiration from I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing by The New Seekers for his track Shakermaker (Definitely Maybe, 1994). In 1971, the song was used in a Coca-Cola advert and became so popular that the band recorded it once more to build on the commercial success. Some twenty years later, Oasis had to pay $500,000 in compensation to the right owners of the track as a result. There’s also Step Out, which is very similar, too similar for some, to Stevie Wonder’s track Uptight from his 1965 record Everything’s Alright.

A less fortunate fan didn’t manage to get her hands on the golden ticket: “I discovered Oasis as a kid. I love their occasional flourish, the guitar solos and Liam’s raspy voice, even though I’ve always had a soft spot for the songs sung by Noel. A lot of people want to relive the experiences of their youth through this tour, but I simply wanted to discover them on stage for the first time. I love their dickish attitude, their provocations and the tributes they pay to their idols. I think that I really needed them when I was younger. Like a confidence boost…” Whatever may be said, it is impossible not to acknowledge the musical and aesthetic mark left by Oasis at the time. To this day, they remain a cult band that inspired and will continue to inspire many of their successors…

The UK tour of Oasis starts on July 4th, 2025.