The news Oasis fans have been waiting for 15 years is finally here: Noel and Liam Gallagher have buried the hatchet and are reforming the band.
The ’90s icons will perform 17 shows in the UK and Ireland next year – their first since 2009 – with more European shows announced.
If you think you’ve heard this song before, Oasis now joins a long list of music groups that have broken up and gotten back together.
An academic at the University of Winchester claims there is a tried and tested formula for a successful band reunion.
Dr Glenn Fosbraey, associate dean of the faculty of humanities and social sciences, says the “simple” process has been “perfected to perfection” by the likes of Take That, Busted, Girls Aloud and the Spice Girls. However, he warns that Oasis could crash and burn.
When bands like Take That break up, groups go through a cycle of bitter breakups and lucrative reunions. First, as a band’s success begins to wane, a popular member decides to go solo, and the remaining members carry on undeterred. After a few years, the rest of the band decide to go solo or pursue other projects. Finally, band members announce that they are getting back together, sometimes to finance divorces, lawsuits, or bankruptcies.
The news Oasis fans have been waiting for 15 years: Liam and Noel Gallagher have finally buried the hatchet and are reforming the band
First, when the band’s success wanes, a popular band member decides to go solo and the remaining members simply carry on.
After a few years of declining success, the rest of the band decide to go solo or pursue other projects, none of which are financially successful.
Eventually, after a few years, the band members announce that they are getting back together “for the fans,” but usually it is to finance divorces, lawsuits, or bankruptcies.
While the circumstances of the Oasis reunion are slightly different, rumour has it that Noel has finally agreed to pay for his costly divorce.
“Whatever the reason for their return, Oasis fans won’t give a damn,” says Dr Fosbraey in a new piece for The conversation.
‘For them it is not so much important why it happens, but that it happens.
“But most reunions simply result in the artists having a healthy bank account and the fans getting a chance to relive the good old days.”
While the Oasis reunion will undoubtedly be lucrative, the band could crash in the months or years following the upcoming shows, depending on how long they stay together.
There are plans for performances in Europe and even the rest of the world after their shows in the UK and Ireland, although there are no intentions to return to the studio just yet.
If they continue in the long term, the band’s career could follow a similar path to that which followed the memorable Knebworth performances in 1996.
The ’90s icons will perform 17 shows in the UK and Ireland next year – their first since 2009 – with more European shows announced.
Pictured, Oasis at Knebworth in 1996. Many Oasis fans are hoping this is the line-up that will appear next year, with Paul McGuigan (second right) on bass and Alan White (far right) on drums. Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs (far left) has already been confirmed to join the brothers, according to reports
An academic says the ‘simple’ process of splitting and reforming has been ‘refined to perfection’ by bands including Take That (pictured), Busted, Girls Aloud and the Spice Girls
The Spice Girls went on a world tour in 2007 – their first concerts as a five-piece band in almost a decade
Oasis’ third and fourth albums, 1997’s Be Here Now and 2000’s Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, were panned by critics and left the band exhausted.
A series of high-profile feuds between the two brothers culminated in the famous Paris skirmish that led to their split in 2009.
“Time will tell whether the reunion of the Gallagher brothers will tarnish or enhance their legacy,” Dr. Fosbraey added.
‘Fans of Oasis will be keeping their fingers crossed that the Gallagher brothers can deliver – and that their rekindled relationship remains intact.’
The academic points out that many reunions have led to “creative rebirths” with critically acclaimed studio albums and commercial success, citing Blur, Blondie and Pixies as examples.
Blur – who beat Oasis to number one in the summer of 1995 – have played more than 100 gigs and released two studio albums since Oasis split.
And Blondie reached number one with the single ‘Maria’ two years after they reunited in 1997.
The academic points out that many reunions have led to ‘creative rebirths’ with critically acclaimed studio albums and commercial success – citing Blur, Blondie (pictured) and Pixies as examples
Blur, who beat Oasis to the number one position in the summer of 1995, have played over 100 shows and released two studio albums since Oasis split.
David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Rick Wright of the band Pink Floyd on stage at ‘Live 8 London’ in Hyde Park on July 2, 2005 in London
Other reunions, however, have been “disappointing,” Dr. Fosbraey adds, citing The Velvet Underground, Outkast and Kiss.
Others still served as a temporary band-aid for band members already in troubled relationships.
Pink Floyd reunited in 2005 for a triumphant concert at Live 8, but in recent years the remaining members have been at each other’s throats again.
For Oasis, the issues that initially led to the breakup may ‘resurface and end the relationship once and for all’.
Dr Fosbraey said the only real surprise about the Oasis reunion was ‘that it took so long for it to happen’.
Rumors of an Oasis reunion circulated soon after their split, but by waiting 15 years, Noel may have – inadvertently or not – increased the value of his band.
Fans are already pondering the prices they paid to see Oasis in the 90s and 00s compared to the cost of upcoming shows.
At Wembley Stadium, seating tickets start from £74.25, while standing tickets cost a whopping £151.25.