Who is Richard Ashcroft? Rock legend opening for Oasis, and the song you've definitely heard before
The band will play in Ireland for the first time in 16 years, when they performed in Slane just two months before their explosive split in 2009.
Of course, they won't be alone — with fellow Britpop legends Cast and Richard, who led The Verve, coming in tow as they open for the Gallagher brothers. Richard (bottom left) formed The Verve in 1990. Pic:Born in Wigan, Richard began writing music as a means of coping with the passing of his father when he was just eight years old.
Attending Up Holland High School, Richard met Simon Jones, Peter Sailsbury and Simon Tong, with him meeting Nick McCabe at Winstanley College.
In 1990, Richard, Nick, Simon and Peter came together to form The Verve — with the band enjoying three top five songs in their initial five-year run before splitting in 1995. They were joined by Simon Tong in their first reunion in 1997, right around the time Oasis released their third album, Be Here Now — with The Verve also releasing their third album, Urban Hymns, around the same time.
Where they gave us…
One of the most famous Britpop songs ever, and definitely the most well-known song not released by a band named Oasis or Blur, Bitter Sweet Symphony is arguably the anthem of the 1990s UK. And yet, it only reached number two on the charts at the time.
The music video is almost as iconic as the track, which saw Richard walking through a busy London pavement in a cool 'I don't care what's going on' way — although the song wasn't without controversy, as Allen Klein, who held the copyright to The Last Time by the Rolling Stones (the original song) wouldn't clear the sample to be used in The Verve's song.
From there, the copyright was given to Klein for over two decades, with the rights for the song being returned to Richard and The Verve in 2019. Richard is opening for Oasis on their reunion tour, which comes to Ireland this weekend. Pic: C Brandon/Redferns
The band would reunite and break up several times over the years, splitting for the last time in 2009 (coincidence? Probably). But unlike Liam and Noel, the Verve's split seems more permanent.
But after Liam and Noel (finally) kissed and made up last year, who knows? Maybe people will be looking for a reunion of The Verve — with the leading man ready to give his bitter-sweet symphony to over 82,000 fans on Saturday and Sunday night.
As for the main event, Oasis have confirmed who's coming on when this weekend for the people who were lucky enough to nab tickets.
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Liam Gallagher pays sweet tribute to Irish mammy at Croker
Oasis kicked off their two sold out gigs at Croke Park on Saturday and not without a sweet tribute to their beloved Irish mammy, Peggy. Packed buses and trains made their way to Dublin on Saturday as excitement culminated at the home of the GAA for the reunion of once-feuding brothers, Noel and Liam. The brothers, who fell out in 2009, reunited last month for a string of gigs as part of Live 25 and paid homage to their Mayo roots as they played to avid fans at Croke Park. Liam and Noel Gallagher at the opening night of Oasis Live 25′ Tour. Pic: Samir Hussein/WireImage Two tributes took place on the night — one for the people of Charlestown, where their mother is from, and a second specifically to their mother. At the gig, Liam wondered: 'Anyone here from Mayo, Charlestown?' As with anything the musician said on the night, there were plenty of cheers, with the 52-year-old quick to remark: 'There's only about five people there, you can't all be f*cking from there.' @ Dublin vibes in the area. 🎥 therealnoelyg#oasis #upinthesite #OasisLive25 #noelgallagher #liamgallagher ♬ suono originale – Oasis UpInTheSite The band dedicated Stand By Me to Peggy, who was amongst concertgoers on the night – sure to have been beaming to see her sons back on stage together. Saturday saw the Gallagher brothers' reunite on stage on Irish soil for the first time in 16 years, with former band members Andy Bell, Gem Arche and Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs also back in action for the monumental moment. The Manchester lads last played Ireland in 2009, when they headlined at Slane Castle, in Co Meath, performing there to over 80,000 fans. Saturday saw the Gallagher brothers' reunite on stage on Irish soil for the first time in 16 years, with former band members Andy Bell, Gem Arche and Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs also back in action for the monumental moment. Pic: TikTok If you are one of the lucky ones with your mitts on one of the golden tickets to either Saturday or Sunday's shows, then you need to know a few things in advance of arriving at Croker, in order to have the best experience possible. Gardaí are urging fans to follow their Oasis Concert Croke Park Traffic Managment Plan, and to take heed of signage in and around Croke Park, as roads will be closed all around the venue. Gardaí and stewards will be on hand to ensure everything runs smoothly for concert attendees. Doors opened at 5pm on Saturday, and will do so again on Sunday, with the show getting underway from 6pm with support acts Richard Ashcroft (formerly of The Verve) and Liverpudlian band Cast.
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6 hours ago
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Review: The 'new' Oasis leave Croker in a daze
Oasis' songs about feeling happy and then feeling sad left the Croke Park crowd in a euphoric daze on Saturday night When they walk out as dusk begins to settle on the stage of Croke Park on a glorious Saturday evening, Oasis are greeted with the kind of deafening, delirious roar one might expect if (and when) Mayo finally lift the Sam Maguire again. Somewhere up there in an executive box, Peggy Gallagher of Charlestown was having a very special moment. Because it is she more than anyone else who has made hell freeze over, bang her sons' heads ever so gently together and bring about about this miraculous reunion tour. It hasn't quite been 16 years of hurt since Oasis last played Ireland in 2009 but Saturday's opening show of the band's two-night stand in GAA HQ was easily the most feverishly awaited Irish gig in many years. The return of the unibrow brothers is a very big deal. And yes, we all know, they're in it for the money. There is an atmosphere of giddy euphoria in the evening air and naturally it gives way to a mid-gig eruption of "ole, ole, ole". Man City had hammered Wolves 4-0 just before Oasis hit the stage but the only nod to that is the cardboard cutout of City manager Pep Guardiola standing behind one of the Marshall amps. This was nostalgia with its ya-ya's out. But it was also another business-like, choreographed show from the band as they approach the midway point of their reunion tour. In their now customary act of choreographed filial bonhomie, Noel and Liam stride on stage, arms aloft, hands clenched together, bang on time at 8.15pm to play a 21-song, two-hour set that left two generations of fans in a blissed-out daze. In other words, the old Oasis is well and truly gone. This was a very slick, very polished and very professional show. Not words we'd usually associate with the Manchester band and it's clear that Noel laid down some hard and fast rules before he signed up for this juggernaut of a world tour. The Chief has turned the new Oasis into a tightly-drilled machine. And anybody who might have been expecting some kind of final reproachment between the brothers now that they were back in "home turf" would have left disappointed on Saturday night. Any signs of the age-old power struggle between the Gallaghers was well hidden and other than that opening show of unity, there was very little interaction between the siblings. Not that Liam was going to let that spoil his fun. His in between song patter is akin to scrolling his Twitter feed and equally hard to decipher; we are told we are "lunatics" and that we are the "bollocks" and his static stage showmanship, something he calls "stillism", rarely sees him leave the same spot. We are still not sure if he's going to kiss or headbutt the microphone. Students of Oasis setlists wouldn't have found much to dissect on Saturday night. Nearly everything they play is from their first two albums and their great compilation record, The Masterplan. Opener Acquiesce sounds particularly vital in the summer night, as does Some Might Say and Cigarettes and Alcohol, two wicked, wicked things that no longer hold much interest for the thousands of young people in Croker. Another stand-out is a blistering D'Ya Know I Mean?, the snarling 1997 single that gave hope to keepers of the Oasis flame that the band had much more to offer. The less than stellar 1995 hit Roll With It gets one of the biggest reactions of the night and clearly it's been adopted as an anthem for a crowd who are here for a good time all the time. Noel's mid-show solo turn is also excellent. Mr melancholia's pleading voice on superior compositions like Talk Tonight and Half a World Away is a highpoint of the evening. A return to the full band wall of sound for the ever great Shakemaker and Live Forever brings the place to its feet again. (The sound on Saturday was very, very good and maybe even made an impression in Croker's nosebleed seats). The encore is, of course, the Oasis power set; there's a mass singalong to Don't Look Back in Anger, a song that still delivers a satisfying wallop all these years later; Liam pours everything into an emotional reading of Wonderwall, which turns GAA HQ into a constellation of mobile phones; and who cares that a spiraling Champagne Supernova ends with the giant screens showing the sun going down over a shimmering ocean. Subtly was never an Oasis thing. So, this is the new Oasis in action - huge energy, military-like precision, not a foot or note out of place . . . Part of their thuggish charm and their eventual failure all those decades ago was their edge and their sense of danger, the unpredictability of it all. That is gone now but these songs about feeling happy and then feeling sad are still very much vital and life-affirming for the two generations of Oasis fans who turned Croke Park into one mass celebration on Saturday night. It was worth the wait.
