'Oasis tickets cost £700 for me and my son but email hours before gig had me vomiting'
A parent who planned to take his son to see Oasis at Heaton Park has said that he was "so overwhelmed" after receiving an email hours before the gig. He said things didn't go to plan after spending hundreds of pounds on tickets.
Phil Hessey, 39, from Walton, told the Liverpool Echo that he had bought tickets for himself, his son Kaiden, 15, and a family friend for the show in Manchester on Saturday. It was Oasis' second gig at the venue, after Liam Gallagher and Noel Gallagher returned to Heaton Park on Friday night.
He said that he managed to get one ticket for the tour last summer, when they first went on sale, and then bought two resale tickets earlier this month. The three tickets for the gig are said to have cost more than £1,000 altogether.
The first ticket, given to his son, is said to have been more expensive than expected due to dynamic pricing. After hoping to get one for himself at a later date, Phil managed to get tickets for himself and the friend through Viagogo.
Phil said: "My lad is a mad Oasis fan, he was brought up watching them on YouTube and all the videos - I was really into them when I was younger. The [initial] ticket advertised was £148, that turned into £394. I was like 'what' but I'd made a promise to my son that I'd get tickets, so I bought that from Ticketmaster. I hadn't bought mine, but I'd made a promise to my son that we would go, I had an idea that I could get mine later."
Phil said he "kept looking" as he expected some tickets to be sold closer to the time of the tour. He told the outlet: "I bought two tickets from Viagogo on July 1, my friend had expressed interest, so I got one for me and him to go with Kaiden.
"They were advertised in pounds sterling and I paid £714, which went out of my bank. They were general admission and I was over the moon - I now had three tickets. I was disgusted with how much they cost but I'd got them."
Phil said that he received an email from Viagogo on Friday last week saying "the tickets will be with you". He added that he received another on Saturday morning promising that the tickets would be with him for midday.
Oasis' second gig at Heaton Park was due to begin at 6pm on Saturday with support act Cast, followed by Richard Ashcroft. Oasis would then come on stage later in the evening. That morning though, Phil received another email, seen by the ECHO, that left him unable to attend the gig.
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Phil said: "Later on Saturday, at 10.38am, I got an email saying the tickets had been cancelled. The life was sucked out of me. It said the seller was no longer able to fulfil the order. When the ticket got cancelled, I was so overwhelmed. I ran to the bathroom and was sick in the sink."
He said that he still took his son to Heaton Park but that difficulties arose at the venue. He said that Kaiden's ticket was marked general admission but had a free upgrade to the front standing area, which he believed to be optional, too.
Phil's said to have contacted a number of people that he knew who would be at the gig to ensure that his son would be accompanied by an adult. Phil told the ECHO that Kaiden was turned away from some gates once they had arrived.
He said: "Under 16s needed an adult to go in with. I drove him, parked a mile away, walked him all the way down. I was still a bag of nerves, I wouldn't be there with him. I spoke to the stewards. I said I wanted to downgrade him, I wanted him to go in with an adult. They said that wouldn't be a problem."
Phil's said to have been "in a state of panic" amid more difficulties getting Kaiden into the gig before another kind family said they would look after him. Phil said: "A random family, who I owe a massive debt of gratitude to, saw he was on his own, and said 'stay with us and we'll look after him'. He ended up enjoying the gig."
Phil, who spoke about the stress caused by his ticket being cancelled at short notice, has since been issued with a refund, though was unhappy with the amount. He said: "I raised it with Viagogo and they said they couldn't get more tickets. I had to take a refund. £714.81 went out of my bank in the original transaction but I've got £679.11 back. That's a £35.70 shortfall. They've said that it's due to a conversion fee to Australian Dollars, but the tickets were advertised in pounds sterling."
A Viagogo spokesperson told the ECHO that this difference in price was due to the ticket being sold in Australian Dollars. They said a discrepancy in fees was an issue to be raised with Phil's bank. Viagogo has apologised for his tickets being cancelled and told the ECHO that it is trying to find Phil tickets for a future date.
Phil told the outlet that he wanted to raise awareness of his experience so that other people don't go through the same stress on the remainder of the Oasis Live '25 tour. The tour is scheduled to conclude in Brazil in November.
A Viagogo spokesperson told the ECHO: "On viagogo, fans are protected by our guarantee. We ensure fans receive their tickets in time for the event and in the rare event of an issue, we offer them replacement tickets or their money back.
"In this instance, the buyer had purchased the ticket in AUS dollars and therefore, was refunded the same amount in AUS dollars. The discrepancy in fees is with the bank and we advise Phil to raise the matter with his bank. Our number one priority is to get people into live events and we are deeply sorry that on this occasion, Phil was unable to attend the concert."
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Scottish Sun
35 minutes ago
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The Sun
35 minutes ago
- The Sun
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NOEL and Liam Gallagher defied killjoy council bosses who tried to stop fans congregating on Heaton Park's 'Gallagher Hill' for Oasis' triumphant final concert. The pair went to special lengths to honour those gathered there, including paying for 1,000 special T-shirts which were handed out to delighted fans during last night's show. 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 Noel, 58, and Liam, 52, made the effort after woke Manchester City Council chiefs decided to erect an enormous fence on the hill to stop fans without tickets from seeing the enormous screens that showed the brothers playing. A source said: 'Noel and Liam wanted to do something to honour their fans who'd been given a kick in the teeth from the council. 'Their fans had gathered on the hill to listen to the show if they didn't have tickets and those in a good position could get a sight of the screens until the council bores tried to stop the fun. 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They then beamed the live footage onto the record breaking big screens showing the concert to fans in the crowd. Liam said: 'And I want you fans on the hill to be getting involved as well. 'Even if you are Man United fans.' Noel added: 'We're going live to Gallagher Hill.' Oasis - The Gallagher Feud Timeline Brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher have a long history of ongoing fights - both physical and verbal - here's the full history of the band and what they've said to each other. 1991 - Liam Gallagher forms Oasis with Paul Arthurs, Paul McGuigan and Tony McCarroll, later asking Noel to join. 1993 - The band sign to Creation Records and start work on their debut album. August 1994 - Oasis shoot to fame with their debut album, Definitely Maybe, with tracks including Rock n Roll Star, Live Forever and Supersonic. It's one of the fastest selling debuts ever for a British band. September 1994 - Noel temporarily leaves the band's tour after Liam smacks him in the face with a tambourine on stage in Los Angeles. 1995 - The band release their second album, (What's The Story) Morning Glory? which features Wonderwall, Don't Look Back in Anger, and Champagne Supernova. 1996 - Liam is forced to sit out a leg of tour shows due to laryngitis, but causes chaos when he was filmed heckling his brother from a balcony while a taping of MTV Unplugged. 2000 - Noel quits the band temporarily for a second time when, while partying in Barcelona, Liam riles Noel by questioning if his daughter, Anais, is actually his. The pair get into a fist fight. 2005 - Noel tells Q Magazine that he's 'never forgiven' Liam for his comments about Anais and he's 'never apologised. He tells the mag: "He's my brother. I hope he's reading this and realises that. He's my brother but he's at arm's length until he apologises for what he's done." 2009 - Noel admits in an interview with Q that he 'doesn't like Liam', branding him "rude, arrogant, intimidating, and lazy". "He's the angriest man you'll ever meet," he added. "He's like a man with a fork in a world of soup.' Liam later retaliates and tells NME: 'It takes more than blood to be my brother. He doesn't like me and I don't like him.' August 23, 2009 - Oasis pull out of a headline slot at V Festival in the UK due to Liam having laryngitis. August 28, 2009 - Ahead of the Rock en Seine festival, Noel and Liam get into another fight, during which time Liam breaks one of Noel's guitars after "waving it like an axe" according to Noel. August 28, 2009 - Noel quits the band for the third and final time, saying in a statement: "It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight. I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer." 2010 - Oasis win 'best album of the last 30 years' at the Brit Awards for (What's the Story) Morning Glory. Liam picks up the gong, and thanks everyone except Noel. He later says this was misinterpreted as a dig. 2011 - Liam tries to sue Noel after he claims in the interview they cancelled their V Festival performance due to Liam being hungover. Liam disputed it said the comment "questioned my professionalism". He later apologised and the lawsuit was dropped. 2011 - Noel admits regrets at quitting before the Paris gig, telling Absolute Radio and admits if he did "we may never have split up." 2011 - 2014 - Liam and the other bandmates continue under new name, Beady Eye, while Noel forms new band, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. 2015 - After years of jabs online, especially through media and Twitter, Liam teases he's buried the hatchet with Noel by sharing an All Areas pass from a High Flying Birds gig. However, the fight would recommence two months later after Noel publicly dismissed suggestion Oasis would reunite for Glastonbury 2016. 2017 - Liam performs at Manchester's One Love concert after the bombing at Ariana Grande's show, with Don't Look Back In Anger becoming a unifying anthem for the incident. He then slams Noel for not attending. Noel later tells Sunday Times: "Young music fan were slaughtered, and he, twice, takes it somewhere to be about him. He needs to see somebody.' 2018 - Liam suggests a reunion for the 2018 World Cup on Twitter, writing: 'let's get the big O back together and stop f***ing about the drinks are on me'. When it fell on deaf ears, he added: "I'll take that as a NO then." 2019 - Noel speaks out after Liam sends 'threatening messages' to Anais after a comment made about then wife Sara McDonald. Liam later apologises publicly to Anais. 2020 - Liam urges Noel to reunite for a one-off charity gig. 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Our insider added: 'Oasis make music for their fans and they perform for their fans. 'They won't be dictated to by some woke, pen-pushing drones on Manchester City Council. 'Music is for everyone.' The brothers now have a short break before their mammoth 41-show tour continues in London's Wembley Stadium on Friday. 10 10 10
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
London's superstar concerts will boost economy, mayor says
A string of concerts by global stars is likely to benefit London's economy and showcase the city as "the undisputed capital of music", the mayor of London has artistes Beyoncé and Billie Eilish have played multiple dates and home-grown performers Oasis and Coldplay are due to do the Oasis performance at Wembley Stadium this week is expected to draw 630,000 people to to London, bringing an financial boost of nearly £ music venues also attracted fans, and with them a £313m increase in last year, according to City Hall. Other big names being credited with for bringing music fans to the capital include Usher, who completed a ten-night residency at the O2 Arena in March, and BLACKPINK and Stray Kids, who are playing their only UK shows in London. According to UK Music, an estimated 7.5 million people attended concerts and festivals in London last year, accounting for £2.7bn of the country's total £10bn revenue generated from the live music organisation's chief executive Tom Kiehl described the Oasis reunion and Beyoncé tour made for a "spectacular summer" for Kate Nicholls, from UK Hospitality said the additional visits to pubs, bars and restaurants showed the impact live music can have on the wider economy.
