Liam insulted me but I'll sing every word at Oasis tonight… they blew me away when I was 21 & still do, says Vernon Kay
MAD FER IT! Liam insulted me but I'll sing every word at Oasis tonight… they blew me away when I was 21 & still do, says Vernon Kay
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WHEN Oasis strike the opening chords of their reunion tour tonight, it will be an incredibly emotional moment for me.
Alongside my 16-year-old daughter Amber, younger brother Stephen and tens of thousands of mad-for-it fans, I'll be singing along to every word at Cardiff's Principality Stadium.
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Oasis fan Vernon Kay at a gig in the 90s
Credit: Supplied
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Vernon and Noel at Radio 2 in 2023, sharing memories of the Manchester club scene
Credit: Instagram/vernonkay
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Vernon with wife Tess and daughters Phoebe and Amber
Credit: Instagram
I'm buzzing and really can't wait. It will be the band's first show since the year of Amber's birth.
Now a whole new generation of fans will witness first-hand what we've been raving about for so long.
The best thing is Amber has found Oasis without me, saying: 'You need to listen to this brilliant band.'
I'll be such a proud dad as we sing all the lyrics together.
I've been sending her different bootlegs of their live performances and we've already had a practice run, belting out their anthems.
I might have to make a few excuses for Liam's language, though — I know from personal experience that he has a fruity turn of phrase.
Back in 2009, I was at a Prodigy gig when I bumped into Liam and his then-wife Nicole Appleton. They'd been on holiday and I'd had a couple of lagers and cheekily yelled at him: 'Is that fake tan you're wearing?'
For a minute, I thought he was going to hit me. He shouted: 'No, I'm f***ing not you lanky streak of p***.'
I think he then called me lanky bollocks.
But he's brilliant company.
Liam Gallagher reveals new details about Oasis tour – before quickly deleting post
People ask: 'Who would be your top ten dinner party guests?'
Well, Liam would certainly be one of mine. And I think you would want him to be the one who arrives last, with a 24-pack of Guinness, slamming them down on the table.
Everyone would go: 'Alright then, let's have one of them.'
For me — and countless others — today's show will be a return to the golden days of our youth.
When Supersonic, the first single, hit the charts in April 1994, it had the simplicity of dance music with the excitement of raucous guitars.
I was 21 and me and my friends were blown away. They were just so relatable.
The band dressed like us and had similar attitudes. Growing up in Bolton, my musical journey began with the train to Manchester every Saturday with my mates. We'd visit Piccadilly Records and try to blend in with the trendy kids with baggy jeans.
Then I got into dance music. There were loads of clubs in Manchester including the Hacienda — the best club I've ever been to.
Just blown away
We started to notice bill posters all over for this group called Oasis.
We didn't immediately jump on the band-wagon, but when Oasis exploded in 1994, we totally got it.
Noel used to go to the Hacienda and Oasis rehearsed at the Boardwalk, another club we went to — it was all so familiar.
And then as they grew and grew and grew and grew, we felt like it was OUR band.
It felt like a great movement — a wonderful moment in time.
I think that dance music and the early days of Britpop ran hand in hand. A couple of years earlier, it was all grunge. I went to the 1992 Reading Festival with Nirvana headlining.
It was quite heavy and the look was army boots and baggy jumpers.
Then all of a sudden there seemed to be this ray of sunshine from behind the grunge hills and everyone was wearing Oasis tracksuit tops and Clarks Wallabee shoes.
I had the Liam haircut, but never went for his swaggering walk. I'm sure there'll be plenty attempting it on the way to the stadium tonight.
Back in the early 1990s, I was living for the weekend and going out — we were all over the different scenes.
In the Nineties, whether you were into dance music, rock and roll — whatever you want to call it — all the genres came together
Vernon Kay
Radio One championed Oasis at the time, especially Jo Whiley and Steve Lamacq, so they were played a lot.
In August 1994, their debut album Definitely Maybe was released and went straight to number one.
As soon as it came out, I was like, 'Right, I'm having a bit of this'.
It's just a brilliant album.
Noel has said that the lyrics and stories on it are all about living on the breadline, but being with your mates and having a great time.
Just sitting in a park on star-filled nights and staring up at the sky. It sounds quite romantic.
Liam and Noel grew up on a council estate. I didn't, but being from a working-class family I really felt the energy they transmitted.
You could tell Manchester changed immediately when Oasis broke through. They made young people feel free.
Next week, they head back to Manchester where it all began. I'll be presenting my radio show live from the city as a celebration of the band, with fans sharing Oasis memories.
Adds such a spark
Britpop was a social phenomenon.
The bands — Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Supergrass, Shed 7 — had loads of character with a bit of political anger thrown into the mix. It was just fab.
Perhaps that's what's lacking in music today. Britpop was fun.
And I think, in the Nineties, whether you were into dance music, rock and roll — whatever you want to call it — all the genres came together. And that's why it was so good.
In 2023, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds appeared, accompanied by the strings section of the BBC Concert Orchestra, for my Radio Two show.
Beforehand, we talked for around an hour about the Hacienda days and dance music. Noel is very concise in how he speaks — very similar to his lyrics. He gets straight to the point.
I understand how Noel and Liam fell out. Me and Stephen call each other all sorts, but the last person who speaks will do it with a snigger.
You can say things to your brother that you can't say to anyone else.
It'll be interesting to see what the Gallaghers' relationship is like on stage. That's the melodrama that adds such a spark to the band.
Forget the ticket sale debacle — this tour is going to be phenomenal.
There's just going to be so much positivity, all the way through from the opening chords to the encore.
And I'll be moist-eyed, singing along to every track as my youngest daughter's generation gets to see the band that changed everything.
GALLAGHER KIDS WELL PLAID!
FOUR of Liam and Noel's kids got together for a family photoshoot ahead of Oasis's record-breaking reunion tour.
The new-gen Gallaghers – Liam's children Molly, 27, Lennon, 25, and Gene, 24, along with Noel's daughter Anais, 25 – were decked out in Burberry as they posed in style for W Magazine.
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New-gen Gallaghers from left to right: Molly, Lennon, Anais and Gene
Credit: @sk8rmom420/W Magazine
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Anais in a Burberry design
Credit: @sk8rmom420/W Magazine
The Britpop nepo-babies opened up about their lives as part of the formerly feuding brothers' brood.
The alleged architect of Oasis's reunion, Noel's photographer daughter Anais, tells the publication: 'My plan is to be at every UK date, and my camera will be with me every step of the way.'
Liam's sons Lennon and Gene have followed in the musical footsteps of their rock star dad, with the brothers both part of rock bands on top of their fashion duties.
But their fellow model sister Molly revealed she shunned the idea of a music career. 'I honestly couldn't think of anything worse than being on stage in front of an audience', she told the magazine.
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Lennon looks laid back in casual clobber
Credit: @sk8rmom420/W Magazine
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Gene looking dapper in a shirt and tie
Credit: @sk8rmom420/W Magazine
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Molly in a crimson leather coat
Credit: @sk8rmom420/W Magazine
TAMBO SALES SOAR BY 155%
TAMBOURINES, bucket hats and anoraks are flying off the shelves as fans clamour to mimic their idols.
Sales of the instrument – which Liam Gallagher used on hits Wonderwall and Champagne Supernova – have rocketed by 155 per cent in the past three months, says finance firm Klarna.
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Tambourines are flying off the shelves thanks to Liam Gallagher
Credit: Getty
Noel has previously poked fun at his brother, describing 'the tambourine player' in the group as 'a bit of a loose cannon'.
Elsewhere, diehard followers of Oasis have been snapping up parkas and anoraks in the lead-up to their epic reunion.
In another Nineties throwback, bucket hats are also back in a big way, with purchases jumping by 89 per cent in the past three months.
FREE PINT WITH FLAMING GRILL
AS part of their Summer To Be Shared campaign, and to back the return of Oasis, Flaming Grill pubs are teaming up with some of your favourite drink brands to offer readers a FREE pint or soft drink, at any of 135 pubs, today or tomorrow.
Pub-goers can expect tribute bands, non-stop Oasis tunes, strictly no-Oasis quizzes, and more over the summer. To claim your FREE drink – just take the voucher below to any Flaming Grill pub, which you can locate at greeneking.co.uk/deals/find-a-flaming-grill – today or tomorrow.
HUNDREDS of drones formed Oasis's logo in lights above Cardiff's Principality Stadium to mark the reunion.
The gizmos were launched from neighbouring rugby ground, Cardiff Arms Park, and could be seen from several miles away shortly before midnight on Wednesday.
Fan James Fenton, 44, who spotted the display, hailed it 'amazing'.
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BBC News
31 minutes ago
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Oasis reunion tour was 'closest kept secret', friend says
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Spectator
an hour ago
- Spectator
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Almost 16 years after they last performed live, Oasis kick off their reunion tour tonight and for every 'mad for it' fan, there's someone else who thinks they're a musical atrocity. The critics say they rip off other artists. There's not much to debate about this. The intro of 'Don't Look Back In Anger' is John Lennon's 'Imagine', the opening riff on 'Cigarettes and Alcohol' is T Rex's 'Bang a Gong (Get It On)', while 'Step Out's' chorus is Stevie Wonder's 'Uptight', to name just a few examples. There are countless more and Noel Gallagher makes no secret of how he writes songs. He told Q magazine in 1997 that he 'absolutely' rips off other artists and admitted on Desert Islands Discs that he'd 'ripped off' Pink Floyd alone 'at least three times'. His crowing tone brings us to another criticism: that Noel and his brother Liam are hopeless show-offs. Again, who can really dispute this? From the early days, they crowned themselves the 'best band in the world' and went on and on about how rich they were. After Noel said he hoped two members of Blur would 'catch Aids and die', and Liam called Russian football hooligans 'batty boys', Simon Price wrote in the Guardian that the brothers have 'prehistoric views'. The younger Gallagher apologised for the 'batty boys' remark but Price still thinks Oasis are 'the band of choice for flag-shaggers and Reform voters'. He said it's 'remarkable' how often their fans have the 'butcher's apron' – i.e. the Union Jack – on their Twitter profiles. After the band played at Earls Court, a longstanding local resident told the tabloids she'd never known a fanbase to behave with such debauchery. When I saw Oasis live at Wembley Stadium and Finsbury Park, fans were hurling around plastic cups full of their urine throughout the shows. Oasis lyrics are meaningless, say the haters, and it's true that even committed fans struggle to explain what most of the band's songs are about. I suspect that Gallagher senior would often just toss up a word salad that fit whichever melody or riff he'd borrowed that day. His songs remind me of the drug that he used to indulge in so enthusiastically – like cocaine, they make you feel invincible and full of yourself for a bit, and then suddenly it's all over and you feel soulless and empty. Also like cocaine, they're good business: Noel once bragged that he had £87 million in the bank and the reunion tour has added to the sense that the brothers are only in it for the money. When the tickets went on sale, many fans were asked to pay as much as £350 per ticket, around £200 more than advertised, due to demand. In response to the resulting backlash, Oasis said that they had left decisions on ticketing and pricing entirely to their promoters and management. Experts at Birmingham City University estimate that the UK dates alone could bring in roughly £400 million in ticket sales and other add-ons. So maybe Oasis are a bit like Reform. They've got lots of front and swagger, they pump out slogans that make you feel hopeful but actually mean very little, their gatherings are peppered with union flags but sceptics think it's all about making rich people even richer. In the 1990s, Tony Blair invited Noel to Downing Street because he was a useful way to tap into the Cool Britannia vibe, and now Oasis are back as the cocky Reform alternative to the Blur of Keir Starmer. But although I think pretty much everything the haters say about Oasis is true, I also think that none of it matters. I've seen them live many times and walking into their concerts was like being whipped into a magical tornado that combined the atmosphere of the best football match you've ever been to, the best gig you've ever seen plus the communal ecstasy of a rave. Everything that makes Oasis terrible also makes them terrific. The ripped-off tunes are instantly familiar and the meaningless lyrics make them simple to sing along to. Yes, the Gallaghers are full of themselves but they also want us to feel that way: their songs are meant to make the listener believe, however briefly, that they, too, could conquer the world. So yes, the audiences at their reunion tour will be paying over the odds to see a derivative, boorish band that's hit the road to make a quick buck – and, quite rightly, they won't care very much.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Excitement mounts as the Oasis reunion tour prepares to kick off in Cardiff
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