CARDIFF, Wales (AP) 鈥� Oasis finally took to the stage in Wales on Friday for the start of a highly anticipated reunion tour.
In front of an ecstatic capacity crowd, the band chose to resume live performances after 16 years with the apt 鈥淗ello鈥� and its refrain of 鈥渋t鈥檚 good to be back.鈥�
After a montage of headlines about the feuding brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher was capped with the words 鈥渢he guns have fallen silent,鈥� Oasis appeared on stage to a deafening roar.
The brothers largely kept their distance onstage. Noel hammered away at his guitar while a parka-clad Liam snarled into the microphone.
After the opening salvo, they followed up with a string of fan favourites including 鈥淎cquiesce鈥� and 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the Story, Morning Glory.鈥�
鈥淭urn around,鈥� a tambourine-clutching Liam exhorted the crowd before launching into 鈥淐igarettes and Alcohol.鈥�
鈥淧ut your arms over each other like you love each other,鈥� he said.
Earlier in the day, tens of thousands of Oasis fans thronged the streets of Cardiff before the Britpop-era rockers were kicking off a hotly, and somewhat anxiously, anticipated .
The return of the band behind 鈥淲onderwall,鈥� 鈥淪upersonic鈥� and 鈥淐hampagne Supernova鈥� was a major moment for fans.
One fan banner summed it up: 鈥淭he great wait is over.鈥�
鈥榁ery, very special鈥�
Will it be a storming success? Definitely maybe.
Predictions are tricky when it comes to the Gallaghers, the who give Oasis its charisma, and its volatile chemistry.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 one of the attractions about Oasis 鈥� they bring this element of risk,鈥� author and music journalist John Aizlewood said. He said that the 鈥渁lternative aura that they have cultivated with the age-old pop story of fractious brothers鈥� is part of the band鈥檚 appeal.
Unless the brothers鈥� combustible relationship derails proceedings, two nights at Cardiff鈥檚 70,000-capacity Principality Stadium on Friday and Saturday raise the curtain on a 19-date Live '25 tour in the U.K. and Ireland. Then come stops in , ending in Sao Paulo on Nov. 23.
Warming up the crowd were two Britpop era acts: Liverpool band Cast 鈥� who dedicated the ballad "Walkaway" to Liverpool player , who was killed in a car crash on Thursday 鈥� and former The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft, whose stirring song 鈥淭he Drugs Don't Work鈥� got fans in a suitably 1990s mood.
Many ticketholders who traveled to the Welsh capital from as far away as Australia grew up with Oasis and have waited years for this moment. Before the show, the streets around the stadium filled with fans who gathered in groups to sing along to the band's hits and snapped up Oasis-branded bucket hats at 35 pounds ($48) each.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very, very special 鈥� emotional," said 44-year old Rob Maule from Edinburgh, Scotland. "I鈥檓 here with three of my friends, childhood friends, and we used to see Oasis across the country.
鈥淔or us, it鈥檚 a generational thing. It鈥檚 a chapter of our lives," he said. "And then the second generation, as people are taking their kids. It鈥檚 really special.鈥�
Vicki Moynehan came from Dorchester, in southwest England. She said her life has changed since she bought her ticket almost a year ago.
鈥淪even months pregnant 鈥� ain鈥檛 gonna stop me,鈥� she said.
Singalong rock choruses
Founded in the working-class streets of Manchester, England, in 1991, Oasis released its debut album, 鈥淒efinitely Maybe鈥� in 1994, and it became one of the dominant British acts of the 1990s, releasing eight U.K. No. 1 albums and producing hits including 鈥淟ive Forever,鈥� 鈥淩oll With It鈥� and 鈥淒on鈥檛 Look Back in Anger.鈥�
The band鈥檚 sound was fueled by singalong rock choruses and the combustible chemistry between guitarist-songwriter Noel Gallagher 鈥� a Beatles and glam rock-loving musician with a knack for memorable tunes 鈥� and younger brother Liam, a front man of compelling swagger and style.
Then and since, the brothers have often traded barbs 鈥� onstage, in the studio and in interviews. Liam once called Noel 鈥渢ofu boy,鈥� while Noel branded his brother 鈥渢he angriest man you鈥檒l ever meet. He鈥檚 like a man with a fork in a world of soup.鈥�
Oasis finally split in 2009, with Noel Gallagher quitting the band after a backstage dustup with Liam at a festival near Paris.
The Gallagher brothers, now ages 58 and 52, respectively, haven鈥檛 performed together since, though both regularly play Oasis songs at their solo gigs.
They long resisted pressure to reunite, even with the promise of a multimillion-dollar payday 鈥� though Liam sounded more open to the idea. The singer that Noel 鈥渢hinks I鈥檓 desperate to get the band back together for money. But I didn鈥檛 join the band to make money. I joined the band to have fun and to see the world.鈥�
Now they have agreed on a tour that will see them joined 鈥� if reports are right 鈥� by former Oasis members Paul 鈥淏onehead鈥� Arthurs and Gem Archer on guitar, bassist Andy Bell and drummer Joey Waronker.
'An absolute unbelievable blast'
The announcement of the U.K. tour in August sparked a , complete with error messages, hourslong online queues, dashed hopes and anger at prices that surged at the last minute.
Some fans who waited online for hours at the Ticketmaster site complained that they ended up paying 355 pounds ($485) for regular standing tickets instead of the expected 148 pounds ($202).
The ticketing troubles sparked questions in U.K. Parliament, where Arts Minister Chris Bryant criticized 鈥減ractices that see fans of live events blindsided by price hikes.鈥� Britain鈥檚 competition regulator has since threatened Ticketmaster 鈥� which sold around 900,000 Oasis tickets 鈥� with legal action.
No plans have been announced for Oasis to record any new music, and the tour is being presented as a one-off.
Aizlewood said that it鈥檚 an opportunity for Oasis to 鈥渢end the legacy鈥� of the band, and remind people of the power of the Oasis brand.
鈥淭here should be a sense of huge joy and life affirmation about these shows. And I think if they can just play it right, then that can be a massive burnishing of their legacy,鈥� he said. 鈥�(There is) this enduring love for Oasis 鈥� and love means money.鈥�
Fans were determined to enjoy the moment.
鈥淚鈥檓 the oldest sibling of four brothers, so I know they鈥檒l fall out,鈥� said Stephen Truscott, from Middlesbrough in northeast England. "(But) the first night, they鈥檙e going to have an absolute unbelievable blast. It鈥檚 going to be the best.鈥�
Jill Lawless, The Associated Press
