When I was 10 years old, I stood up in front of the whole class and warbled my way through Oasis’ 1995 track “She’s Electric.” This was for the school’s talent competition, an opportunity for cocky children to show off their talents or, in my case, lack thereof. I did not progress to the next round.
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9 Best Moments as Oasis Reunite at Triumphant Comeback Show in Cardiff, Wales
07/04/2025Even then, I was drawn to Oasis, even though their mid-‘90s heyday was almost a decade in the past. (What’s The Story) Morning Glory was the CD that got the most air-time in my dad’s car, and he’d snappily alter the volume every time in “Hello” Liam sneered the line about “wiping the s–t from your shoe.” It was thrilling, emboldening stuff, and gave me (misplaced) confidence to stand there and sing one of its tracks for my peers. Can I be electric too, I wondered?
Everyone in Cardiff, Wales over the weekend (July 4, 5) no doubt had a similar story about their connection to Oasis, and can pinpoint the moment their world was altered by Liam and Noel Gallagher’s music, their attitude and outlook on life. The city’s 74,000-capacity Principality Stadium was chosen for the opening stand on the 41-show Live ‘25 tour, which hits North America, Asia and South America in the coming months. A mural of one of Liam’s tweets, painted onto the side of the city’s smaller Utilita Arena gave the answer of why Welsh capital was the perfect place to kick things off: “Because Cardiff is the b—-cks.”
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In recent years, Cardiff has been chosen by a host of artists to kick off the U.K. legs of massive tours. Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour in 2023 plumped for the same venue, and Lana Del Rey did the same a fortnight ago. Its location on the Bristol Channel makes it well-placed for tours shipping in big productions into the U.K..
Cardiff is a proud city, but not a massive one. Its population of 372,000 makes it just the 11th most-populous in the U.K., and is home to over a tenth of Wales’ entire population (3.1 million). It has ancient roots and has been inhabited since 6000 BC, thousands of years before Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids in Giza were raised. Now it is the beating heart of the Welsh economy and culture, its ideas travelling well beyond the country’s border. A statue of Aneurin “Nye” Bevan, architect of Britain’s National Health Service, stands proudly in the centre of town overlooking the castle.
Oasis Thomas SmithLike most cities in the U.K., it is full of local character and quirks. A street dedicated to takeaway food (princely fish and chips) can generate fierce debate: most locals call it “Chippy Lane,” but some refer to it as “Chippy Alley.” Which moniker you choose says something about your outlook on life and politics, the locals say.
Perhaps, then, it feels obvious that a band like Oasis who generate such a passionate response would find a perfect home in the city. Fans queued for pictures outside of a mural made of Liam and Noel made of bucket hats, or for the mega pop-up shop inside the St. David’s shopping centre in the heart of the town. They came out clutching armfuls of vinyl and merchandise, with some made specially for the opening dates.
Oasis Thomas SmithCardiff had the feel of a Super Bowl weekend, or a World Cup tournament rolling into town, where the entire city gets swept up in the moment and day. Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour exerted similar dominance over happenings in each city she visited, sparking sidequests and local angles on a global phenomenon. There’s a fair chance Oasis will do something similar as they bring the rock’n’roll roadshow to the world.
In the vicinity close to the stadium, the atmosphere grew rowdier but good-natured. A marching band plodded down the high street performing a brassy version of “Roll With It,” and the BBC scuttled around the city for a livestream broadcast of festivities leading up to the commencement of the show. It later showed ticketless fans standing outside the stadium, listening to whatever sound leaks out.
Since Oasis emerged in 1994, fans have felt an ownership over their music and adopted their ethos. Songs like “Don’t Back in Anger,” “Wonderwall” and “Live Forever” have entered the fabric of U.K. society (particularly England) and are yet to budge. The first of those three, in particular, became a rallying cry to overcome adversity for their hometown following the horrific terrorist attack at Ariana Grande’s show at the Manchester Arena in 2017, which claimed the lives of 22 concert-goers. These songs now say little about its authors, but much about its listeners.
The streets were appropriately filled with DIY merchandise, with punters using the brothers’ iconography and claiming it for their own purpose. At a pre-party at beloved haunt Clwb Ifor Bach, a group of lads unfurl a personalized flag that features the band’s logo, their image, and the three shows they’ll be heading to on the Live ‘25 run: Cardiff, London, Dublin. A convenience store prints off a life-size cut-out of Liam, but they’ve plumped for a less-than iconic shot of the frontman. He looks like he’s putting his bins out for collection, rather than posing as the irresistibly cool ringleader of the world’s best band.
Inside the stadium a high percentage of attendees proudly wore their new merchandise. Whether it be homemade or the stylish new line with Adidas, which has created bespoke football shirts for the occasion — one of which comes in sky blue, a nod to their beloved Manchester City F.C.
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With the retractable roof closed, eyes around the darkened stadium were pointed towards the stage, which includes a ginormous screen for visuals and a classic Oasis logo atop. The crowd were slightly subdued for the Britpop band Cast who appeared, in truth, somewhat out of their depth in a venue of this size. The same cannot be said for Richard Ashcroft who raced through a number of Verve classics including “Bittersweet Symphony” and “Sonnet.” One fan close by sincerely screamed that Ashcroft “should be headlining” the whole event.
The crowd for Oasis is one of the loudest this writer has ever heard at a concert. Virtually every word in each song – even for 1994 B-Side “Fade Away” – earns a big singalong. For “Cigarettes & Alcohol” Liam asked the crowd to link arms, turn away from the stage and perform the “poznan,” a jumping celebration invented by fans of Polish club Lech Poznan and adopted by Manchester City. It made for a breathtaking and slightly bizarre sight as fans crane their neck to ensure they don’t miss a moment they’d paid a fortune for. Liam quipped at one point, “Was it worth the £40,000 you paid to get in?” The crowd roared back their approval. “Yeah, I thought so…”
Oasis Thomas SmithNostalgia has undoubtedly been a key factor in the fevered response, but the reunion has offered an opportunity for a new generation of fans to witness the band live for the first time in their lives. Teenagers and 20-somethings made up a healthy proportion of the crowd and brought the same style, attitude and energy that attracted their parents’ generation in the first place. Some come together for this special moment; others held their head in their hands, still in disbelief in what they’ve witnessed. When Noel introduced the “The Masterplan” towards the show’s close, he dedicated it to the youngsters seeing the band live for the first time, setting the tone for a tour that has no time for gate-keepers.
As the show ends, the pair share a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it embrace. Liam zooms off in a black 4×4 parked up on the pitch, while Noel and the rest of the band soaked up the atmosphere. Fans spilled onto the street into pubs and wobble down to Chippy Lane for some grub. One group of lads took turns trying to launch their Oasis’ branded bucket hats onto the top of Nye Bevin’s statue. Cardiff has set the bar for what is set to be the summer’s biggest party all across the globe. Is your city going to be as mad fer it?
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