This year is gonna be the year that they’re gonna throw it back to you. I don’t believe that any Oasis fan thought they’d be reuniting in 2025.
And yet, here we are.
For some it’s nostalgia, for others it’s a dream to see icons before their time and for a small few, it’s the perfect time to perform as a tribute act.
An Oasis tribute show – Live Forever: The rise of Britain’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band – will see performers from multiple Oasis tribute bands come together to perform over 30 of the band’s hits on a UK tour this January, playing at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on January 10.
Growing up just a stone’s throw away from the brothers in Burnage, Derek ‘Degsy’ Williamson – who plays Liam in the tribute band – was at a friend’s house when he was 20.
A year after Degsy met Liam, in 1994, Oasis would make their TV debut on Channel 4’s late-night entertainment show – The Word – where Liam first growled out the lyrics: ‘I’m feeling supersonic, give me gin and tonic.’
He said: “I thought ‘no way, it’s Liam’. The song was brilliant. The lyrics, the attitude, the dress sense, the fact they’re from Burnage, and I had that affinity as I already knew Liam.”
Degsy then found himself in his tribute band years after Oasis played at a Newport music venue TJ’s.
He said: “I told the owner at the time, I’m going to start an Oasis tribute band and we’re going to be the best one in the world, and he said ‘if you do son, you can come and play here’.”
Soon after this, at a party, Degsy was put on the spot.
Degsy said: “Some guy asked me if I was any good.”
One Oasis acapella rendition later, the man offered to get a band together for Degsy.
Degsy said: “I offered to do the first gig for free if he got a band together.”
“The owner said the venue hadn’t been that busy since the 80s’, and it was 2004 at this point.”
Degsy’s band – The Oasis Experience – perform at many family festivals as well as indoor venues.
He said: “We did a festival where we had a six-year-old girl get up on stage with us and sing ‘She’s Electric’. All the kids are singing along to all the words on their dads’ shoulders.
“I get my buzz from the crowds.”
However, it was playing at Manchester Cathedral for a festival in 2023 that really hit home.
In his younger years, Degsy would walk past the cathedral when he went shopping with his mother but never stepped through the doors.
Degsy added: “I thought ‘you’re joking’ when we got booked for the cathedral.
“I thought that was going to be the pinnacle of my career, but now, the Bridgewater Hall will be.”
Someone more accustomed to being in the hectic Oasis crowds themselves is 43-year-old Stephen Ahern, store manager of Microdot Manchester.
Established by graphic designer Brian Cannon, the shop is home to the original sleeve artworks used for Oasis’ three albums released in the nineties, which were designed by Cannon himself.
Stephen said: “It’s gritty artwork, you can tell it’s Northern. Brian would listen to the songs and formulate his ideas to try and portray the spirit of Oasis in a visual format.”
The Gallagher brothers’ music still echoes throughout Manchester’s streets.
Then, August 27 2024 happened.
Stephen said: “All of a sudden, we were flavour of the month when the reunion was announced and there was a buzz around Manchester.”
The official day of ticket sales saw all 17 shows across London, Cardiff, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin sell out within 10 hours.
Stephen added: “It’s without a doubt the biggest reunion in history. To see Liam and Noel getting on, that means as much to people as much as the actual gigs, and we’ve never met these guys.”
He has seen the rockstar brothers over 30 times between 1997 and 2009.
Stephen said: “I first saw them when I was 14 on the Be Here Now tour in 1997. I’d been so immersed in their music, so I was starstruck seeing them walking out. It felt like you were part of a moment.”
The era of 90s guitar-based music we now know as ‘Britpop’ was a cultural phenomenon as well as a musical one, after a political shift following 18 years of Conservative leadership.
Noel famously made an appearance at Downing Street to meet Tony Blair, who the rockstar encouraged his fans to vote for.
Stephen added: “There was a bit of resentment towards the Tories and Oasis summed up working class people’s ideals, making you feel anything was possible.
“Some songs on Be Here Now helped me through tough times. I had personal things going on at the time, and the lyrics felt like friends. At that time in my life, it was just perfection for me.”
For those of generation Z, like 26-year-old Adam Wareing, Oasis provide sentiment in different ways.
When Adam was 13, he – like many secondary school boys – was more bothered about his football club, Manchester City, only diving deep into music as he was leaving school.
Adam said: “I listened to Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ album Chasing Yesterday, and I wanted to listen to more, so I started looking at Oasis songs and then became obsessed.”
Following the tragic Manchester Arena bombings in 2017, Liam played at the O2 Ritz Manchester to kickstart his solo career.
This was when Adam learned he wasn’t alone.
Adam said: “I went there not knowing what to expect. I got there and there were people my age, others were about 50. There was a real hunger for them to be back making music, which made me realise how big a reunion would be.”
Seeing his team win trophies and an Oasis reunion were high on Adam’s bucket list, but not always realistic.
He saw Liam perform again, this time performing to 170,000 people across two nights at Knebworth in 2022.
Adam said: “I always hoped one day I’d be able to see Oasis, but I’d given up a little bit, and I thought seeing Liam at Knebworth would probably be the peak of what I see, as it was amazing.”
Now, Adam and his fiancée have tickets for Oasis’ reunion tour at Heaton Park on July 12.
Adam said: “She went to Knebworth with me and it’s really nice to experience that with her, as many of the songs have meaning related to her.”
The 26-year old is part of a new generation who still relate to Oasis’ lyrics in their generation-defining first two albums: Definitely Maybe and What’s the Story Morning Glory?
Adam said: “I think the themes from their first two albums about making something better for yourself are immortal. Many young people are currently in a bad situation and want to hang on to something that gives them a bit of hope, and they can relate to Oasis.”
One in five UK households had a copy of What’s the Story Morning Glory by 1996, with their first album becoming the fastest selling debut record in history at the time.
The legendary Manchester band warned people not to put their lives in the hands of a rock ‘n’ roll band 30 years ago, but some might say history repeats itself.
Featured image photo credit: Jessie Hawkes and Jake Hodge
