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Win Oasis tickets: Cardiff gig supports Wales Air Ambulance

Win Oasis tickets: Cardiff gig supports Wales Air Ambulance

Cambrian News21-05-2025

Missed out on the rock n' roll reunion of the century? The Wales Air Ambulance Charity might be able to help - as if you're an Oasis fan and failed to bag tickets for their Live '25 UK tour - this is Definitely Maybe your day!

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The charm of Robbie Williams
The charm of Robbie Williams

Spectator

time6 hours ago

  • Spectator

The charm of Robbie Williams

What could it possibly feel like to be a sportsperson who gets the yips? To wake up one morning and be unable to replicate the technical skills that define you. To suddenly find the thing you do well absolutely impossible. Golfers who lose their swing, cricketers whose bowling deserts them, snooker players who can't sink a pot. Stage fright – something both Robbie Williams and Cat Power have suffered from – is much the same. Williams took seven years off touring last decade because of it, which must have been devastating for someone whose need for validation is so intense that he has made it his brand. Chan Marshall, the American singer who performs as Cat Power, toured through hers, resulting in shows performed on stages in near-darkness, or that ended early or were undermined by alcohol and the other things that terror forced on her. Both are now in their fifties, both still performing, both very consciously revisiting the past in their own ways, and you couldn't have got two more different performances. Williams, early in proceedings, announced his intention to be recognised globally as the King of Entertainment – Michael Jackson having already taken the title of King of Pop ('And you don't even have to come for a sleepover at my house!'). And truly, we were entertained. Even the boring bits – and there were boring bits, usually played out on the video screens – were entertaining by the standard of the boring video bits at stadium shows. The only part that was truly misjudged was a singalong medley of covers – he'd just done 'Let Me Entertain You' and been joined on the chorus by 60,000 people, so he didn't need to get the crowd loose. Better Man, the ape-as-Robbie biopic, has plainly resurrected him as an item of public interest after a period in which his appeal was becoming, Spinal Tap-style, a little more selective. 'Robbie fucking Williams. Back in stadiums,' he noted, and one wouldn't have predicted it even a couple of years ago. At heart it was a variety show: rock songs, singalong ballads, a load of jokes, a couple of set pieces and a pair of standards. Performing 'My Way' and '(Theme From) New York, New York' absolutely straight and with complete sincerity, gave away the lineage in which he places himself – and it's not next to Oasis. Obviously, he sees himself as an old-fashioned song-and-dance man, and he's a very, very good one – whether in end-of-the-pier or big-stadium mode. At a press conference in San Francisco in December 1965, Bob Dylan was asked whether he thought of himself as a singer or a poet: 'Oh, I think of myself more as a song-and-dance man, y'know.' That is the sole point of connection between Williams and Cat Power; for while he ran into the spotlight, she stayed in the shadows: her songs at the Barbican had no hint of dance about them. Her set, based on Dylan's 1966 tour with the Band (with an acoustic first half, then an electric second), has had writers asking why? Let's assume she just likes the songs, and if Bob Dylan is going to play them like this, why shouldn't she? But watching her expert band recreate what Dylan called 'that thin, wild, mercury sound' was a reminder that she could never hope to recreate the cultural force of Dylan going electric; that music loses its power shorn of context. The trio of records that unveiled Dylan's sound – Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde – are one of the rare points in pop history where you can hear a style of music being invented as it is recorded: if it were made now, you'd call it Americana, a thrilling amalgam of country, folk and R&B played by kids who'd grown up on rock'n'roll. It is thrilling because you can still hear history being made. But repeating it 59 years later? This was the rock equivalent of watching a BBC2 documentary where Lucy Worsley stands in front of someone pretending to be Richard III and enquiring about a horse. The songs with Robbie Williams's name attached to them are not as profound as those with Dylan's name attached to them. 'You think that I'm strong/ You're wrong/ You're wrong/ I sing my song/ My song/ My song,' will never win the nobel prize for literature. But the nakedness of Williams's neediness, and his complete awareness of his own limitations, is winning. Where Power has all but removed herself from her own performance, Williams's show is about one thing: him and only him. Not even the music. Just him.

Liam Gallagher has just one regret as he prepares for first Oasis comeback show
Liam Gallagher has just one regret as he prepares for first Oasis comeback show

Daily Mirror

time9 hours ago

  • Daily Mirror

Liam Gallagher has just one regret as he prepares for first Oasis comeback show

Ahead of Oasis taking to the stage in Cardiff next month, Liam Gallagher has taken to social media and revealed that he has just one regret about the legendary band Liam Gallagher has revealed his one major regret about Oasis just weeks before the band hit the road. The legendary Manchester-based band will be on s tage together for the first time in 16 years next month for their mammoth Oasis Live '25 tour. Brothers Liam, 52, and Noel, 58, had been at loggerheads ever since the band split in 2009 and were often embroiled in tense feuds on social media and in interviews. But years before their split, an internal war is believed to have broken out between the warring siblings. Liam is said to have questioned the paternity of Noel's eldest daughter, Anaïs, 25, in May 2000. ‌ But after almost two decades of arguing, the brothers left fans in a state of disbelief last year when they announced their sensational return, almost 15 years to the day of their split. In just a matter of weeks, they will take to the stage at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on July 4 for their first show. ‌ However, Liam has now opened up about his one major regret about the band in an honest admission with a fan. "How does it feel singing songs with ur brother again? Like old times?" asked one fan on X, formerly known as Twitter. Liam responded: "You know what it's spiritual but I can't help think about all those wasted years, what a waste of PRECIOUS time." Oasis came to an end in 2009 following a disagreement between Liam and Noel backstage at the Rock en Seine Festival in Paris. A witness who saw them row said: "Liam was goading Noel constantly and then the two snapped." Liam also smashed up one of Noel's guitars during the heated clash. The pair are due to perform over 20 dates starting on July 4, before completing the UK leg on September 28 at Wembley Stadium. But could fans see the once-warring brothers again after their upcoming tour? Replying to a fan last week, Liam said: "Let's see how this tour goes and if we still love each other after it." ‌ When asked by the Mirror how rehearsals are going, Liam told us: "Dangerous." Meanwhile, videos have circulated on social media, with audio clips of the band apparently rehearsing the anthems Cigarettes & Alcohol and Fade Away. He told fans that it was his idea to have both songs on the setlist for the most anticipated tour. Last week, the two brothers were seen heading to rehearsals for the first time. While the pair arrived separately, they had two very different methods of transport to the top-secret location. Liam was seen arriving in a chauffeur-driven van, surrounded by packets of Lockets and cough syrup to help his throat, while his older brother, Noel, took public transport and was seen on the District Line at Paddington station. A source told the Mirror: "It was extremely exciting having Noel and Liam in the same room. The excitement for the tour is off the charts." Get Oasis updates straight to your WhatsApp! As the hotly anticipated Oasis reunion tour grows closer, the Mirror has launched its very own Oasis WhatsApp community where you'll get all the latest news on the Gallagher brothers and all the information you'll need in the run up to the gigs. We'll send you the latest breaking updates and exclusives all directly to your phone. Users must download or already have WhatsApp on their phones to join in. All you have to do to join is click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! We may also send you stories from other titles across the Reach group. We will also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose Exit group. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

Ex-Oasis' drummer Zak Starkey reveals biggest ‘punch up' he saw between Noel & Liam and if he'll return to The Who
Ex-Oasis' drummer Zak Starkey reveals biggest ‘punch up' he saw between Noel & Liam and if he'll return to The Who

Scottish Sun

time11 hours ago

  • Scottish Sun

Ex-Oasis' drummer Zak Starkey reveals biggest ‘punch up' he saw between Noel & Liam and if he'll return to The Who

Zak shares what his dad, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, made of his recent dismissal THE STARKEY TRUTH Ex-Oasis' drummer Zak Starkey reveals biggest 'punch up' he saw between Noel & Liam and if he'll return to The Who FIGHTS between Noel and Liam Gallagher in Oasis have become music legend. But their former drummer Zak Starkey insists he never saw the brothers scrapping. Advertisement 8 Zak Starkey with The Sun's Ellie Henman Credit: Supplied 8 Zak playing with Oasis in 2005 Credit: Getty I'm sitting with him in London's Soho Sanctum Hotel as he promotes his supergroup Mantra of the Cosmos' new single, Domino Bones (Gets Dangerous). 'There was a punch-up when I left,' Zak tells me in a whisper. 'They were throwing furniture and everything. 'But when I was there, all we did was laugh and play amazing music. 'I learned so much from how hard working they were. Advertisement READ MORE ON ZAK STARKEY blimey o'riley Watch furious Roger Daltrey kick off at sacked The Who drummer live on stage 'If it says 5.30pm, they are there at 5.10pm. Their work ethic is incredible. It was sleeves up for 12 hours a day.' Zak, who drummed for the band for four years until 2008, reveals there was one major turning point for Oasis, though. He recalls: 'When Kasabian came on tour with Oasis, we played Benicassim festival in Spain. 'We'd had three weeks off and were at home watching fng TV. We were on at 2am. Advertisement 'Kasabian were on at midnight. Noel went, 'I'm not going on at 2am, switch it'. 'Wishing I was there' 'So we went on at 12 and because we'd had three weeks off, it was a bit sloppy. 'Them guys kicked the fing st out of us. They did a 20-minute drum solo. It was like Black Sabbath. EXCL Watch the moment furious Roger Daltrey kicks off at The Who's drummer Zak Starkey live on stage - weeks before officially sacking him 'They destroyed us. But it was the greatest thing that ever happened to Oasis, because we had to pick it up pretty fing quick.' Zak adds with a laugh: 'In the middle, Tom Meighan went, 'This one's for Noel and Liam, you fers'. Advertisement 'Liam went to me, 'Did he actually say that?'. I love that attitude. Everyone needs a reality check at times. And they gave us one.' So, I ask, what kind of telly left Oasis in such a sloppy hole? 'Liam used to say, 'You have the big three — Coronation Street, EastEnders and Emmerdale',' Zak adds, rolling his eyes as he mainlines his umpteenth black coffee. 'It's like heroin. It starts with Richard and Judy and ends at 9pm. We might as well put a fing spike in you.' Zak won't be part of the Oasis reunion, saying he texted them asking why he hadn't made the cut and was 'gutted' to learn they had Joey Warnoker in on the sticks instead. 'I don't know anything about Joey, apart from he's not a mod,' Zak says with a laugh. Advertisement 'I think they will get through it without falling out. I will be wishing I was up there. 'I couldn't watch The Who because I know they'd be doing it all wrong.' He is the greatest rock 'n' roll drummer in the world. He's better now than he was then Zak Starkey Talking of Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, they parted company with Zak twice last month after accusing him of dropping 'two bars' during a gig at the Royal Albert Hall. Zak says he may be back in the fold again as the band prepare for a major tour in the US. He adds with a wry smile: 'I spoke to Roger last week and he said, 'Don't take the drums out of the warehouse yet, in case we need you'. There's no grudge, it's fing music. In the beginning, they were the maddest band. 'Pete is incredibly intimidating. He called me a ct and gobbed on my drum riser. That was very early on.' Advertisement Asked what his dad, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, made of his dismissal, Zak adds: 'I spoke to my dad about it and he watched it and stuck up for me. But he's my dad, isn't he? 'He wasn't happy. He saw the show on TV and was a bit like, 'What the f?'. 'He didn't think anything was a sackable offence. Apart from the ticket price.' As the son of a Beatle, I ask what guidance Ringo gave him over the years. 'My dad never opened the doors for me,' Zak says. 'Mad pop single' 'He'd watch me and say the most cutting fing st. Advertisement He loved Oasis gigs. I spoke to him after one and he told me, 'It's been a long time since I've seen teenagers throwing beer over each other'. 'I know he loves it, but that's what you're going to get from him. "But I'd say to him, 'Why does the Abbey Road remix sound like Supertramp?'. 'He was like, 'The drum sounds good'. I said, 'It's not about the drums, Dad. I learned that when I was 19'. 'But he is the greatest rock 'n' roll drummer in the world. He's better now than he was then.' With Oasis off limits and The Who dates still up in the air, Zak is busying himself with finishing the 14 tracks Mantra have created — with Happy Mondays' Shaun Ryder and Bez and Oasis bass player Andy Bell. Advertisement For Domino Bones (Get Dangerous), Noel got on board, too. Zak explains: 'It was a track Noel did with Shaun a few years ago, but it didn't really fit with High Flying Birds. 'It's a mad pop single and I'm hoping to have a demographic of four to 60.' Looking back at his career, I ask Zak if he ever takes a moment to pinch himself. 'All of my dreams have come true,' he says. 'Who's on the phone? Oh, it's Oasis. Oh, Johnny Marr, the greatest British guitarist, is on the phone.' With a glint in his eye, Zak adds: 'Look, when I was 12 and I was playing in clubs, I didn't realise I was going to turn out like f*ing David Beckham. Advertisement 'What can I say?' I think that sums it up perfectly. EX-OASIS DRUMMER ON... THE GALLAGHERS 8 Oasis brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher Credit: Getty There was a punch-up when I left, they were throwing funiture and everything. But their work ethic is incredible, it's sleeves up 12 hours a day Advertisement THE WHO 8 The Who's Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend There's no grudge, it's f***ing music. In the beginning they were the maddest band. Pete is incredibly intimidating - he gobbed on my drum riser. DAD RINGO 8 Zak with Beatles drummer dad Ringo Starr Credit: Getty He never opened any doors for me - he'd watch me and say the most cutting f*ing st. But he is the greatest rock 'n roll drummer in the world - better now than he was then. Advertisement 8 Former Oasis drummer Zak Starkey Credit: Supplied GEORGINA LACES IT 8 Model Georgina Rodriguez stuns in a black laced-up dress Credit: The Mega Agency GEORGINA RODRIGUEZ knew how to thrill when she wore this black laced-up dress to a party for Netflix in Madrid. The model, who is the partner of Cristiano Ronaldo, looked amazing, despite revealing her reality show I Am Georgina won't be returning for a fourth series. Advertisement She said: 'It has been a lot of work and requires so much effort. 'I think that it has given me the opportunity to show the real me to the world. However, at the moment, I do not plan to continue with the reality show.' LOST TRACK BEHIND ROB & GARY RIFT 8 Take That back in the early Nineties Credit: Getty TAKE THAT's long-lost single was the root of the rivalry between Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow, its writer and producer Ian Levine says. Advertisement I told last month that an unreleased track called Falling For You Girl, recorded by all five members, above, had been unearthed and the team behind it were hoping to get it out. Now Ian has said Robbie was given the lead vocals on the song, which caused a row with bandmate Gary. Recalling their sessions in 1992, he said: 'The reason Gary hated me is because Robbie was mucking around in the studio when we were doing I Found Heaven. 'I said, 'Robbie, you've got a really nice voice, you sound like one of the Bee Gees', and he said, 'Don't be silly, I'm a backing singer'. Advertisement 'I said, 'No, I want to make you a lead singer'. 'But Gary didn't like it and he went crying to manager Nigel Martin-Smith going, 'I'm the lead singer! I don't want to be stuck with one of the others'. 'I insisted, and Falling For You Girl is almost all Robbie.' Now Ian, who also worked on A Million Love Songs and Could It Be Magic, hopes the song will finally see the light of day. Advertisement He added: 'The only way it'll get released is if the fans encourage the boys to put it out. It's fantastic.' SABRINA CARPENTER will drop a new album called Man's Best Friend on August 29. She announced the record last night and it comes just ten months after her smash Short n' Sweet, which returned to No1 for a fifth time last month. The album will feature her new single Manchild, which is on course to go to No1 this Friday, and comes ahead of two shows at BST Hyde Park in London on July 5 and 6. Advertisement AFTER celeb haunt Chiltern Firehouse burned down last year, a new restaurant has popped up that's proving very popular with A-listers. Just in time for summer, Town on Drury Lane, in Covent Garden, central London, has become the go-to place. It's thanks to the menu from acclaimed British chef Stevie Parle, along with fancy cocktails. I'm told Gary Lineker is even a fan.

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