Here’s why Oasis split up in the first place

NME

With Oasis confirmed to return for a huge run of stadium shows across the UK and Ireland next summer, here’s the rundown of why the band broke up in the first place.

• READ MORE: “The great wait is over” – Oasis announce 2025 UK and Ireland reunion tour

On August 28, 2009, Noel Gallagher officially quit the legendary Mancunian band following the cancellation of Oasis’ show at the Paris Rock en Seine festival that same night. The ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ singer shared a statement on Oasisinet.com at the time that read: “It’s with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with [singer, his brother] Liam a day longer.”

The band had pulled out of the Paris show just before they were due onstage, with organisers allegedly displaying a message explaining an “altercation” had caused the cancellation. It was claimed that the Gallagher brothers were involved in a fight with each other minutes before they were due to go on stage.

Oasis’ final show was held on August 22, 2009 at the now defunct V Festival at Weston Park and the band performed a hit-filled set that included ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’, ‘Half The World Away’ and an acoustic cover of ‘Wonderwall’.

The years that followed saw the two brothers be involved in a very public feud against each other. In 2019, ten years following Oasis’ split, Liam reflected on the band’s breakup and told Radio X that he still “felt the pain” of the split and claimed “all was good” at the time of break-up. Two years after Liam’s comment, Noel, revealed that the break up was the result of simmering tensions within the band.

“Oasis tours were always about the struggle, anyway. The incident in Paris, that was just the straw that broke the camel’s back, really,” Noel told the Sky Arts programme Noel Gallagher: Out Of The Now. 

In the chat, he admitted his departure from the band wasn’t “a decision [he] took lightly”.

“It was my life, I directed it and creatively it was my thing. With the benefit of hindsight it was the best thing for me and for the band,” he said.

“Because the band now, Oasis back in 2009, were not lauded as one of the greats of all time. There was a kind of undercurrent of: ‘Well they should really call it a day’. That’s what I felt anyway,” he said.

Last year, Liam announced the ‘Definitely Maybe’ 30th anniversary tour, and revealed on   X/Twitter that Noel was approached and refused to play the tour.

According to the Daily Star at the time, Noel had reportedly said: “The last tour was not happy. The other fella is trying to rewrite history that it was all fucking great. It wasn’t.

He continued: “It was a fucking dreadful last year of Oasis. You get one shot at life. Why be unhappy? Whether it be in your personal or professional life, why? You’re just wasting a precious thing.”

Earlier this year, Liam opened up about the split again to The Guardian and accused Noel  – along with Oasis’ manager Marcus Russell, as blaming him for the decision.

According to the singer-songwriter, Noel had always intended to go solo but decided to blame the disbandment on Liam’s drinking rather than admit he wanted to leave the line-up.

“If you want to do your little thing because you’re not getting enough attention, feel free, mate,” he said, referring to how Noel would often play solo acoustic shows between Oasis’ touring commitments. “I’ll go to Barbados and sit on a beach for six months, but don’t be pulling the plug on the band. That’s the way I saw it.”

“That was my behaviour since day one, and [Noel’s],” he explained, referring to his drinking habits. “That’s what made Oasis what it was.”

“I wasn’t any different, but all of a sudden, he’s turned into Ronan Keating or some soft cunt, going: ‘We can’t have that behaviour’. Meanwhile, [these days] he’s out on tour with fucking [ex-Kasabian frontman] Tom Meighan, who’s allegedly, apparently…” he added.

“And yet you won’t get back in a band with me because I’m a ‘fucking cunt’?! Eh, chill out, mate.”

Today (August 27) the news was shared that the band have finally reunited following a 15 year hiatus. The band will embark on a huge stadium tour of the UK that will see them perform in Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin.

‘OASIS LIVE 25’ is reportedly set to make a staggering £400million, and will follow the release of the expanded ‘Definitely Maybe’ 30th anniversary reissue this Friday (August 30).

The OASIS LIVE 25 world tour will see, currently, the band play 14 stadium dates set to take place between Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin next summer. These will be the band’s only shows in Europe in 2025, but a press release states that “plans are underway for OASIS LIVE 25 to go to other continents outside of Europe later next year”

See the full list of Oasis’ 2025 UK and Ireland tour dates so far below. Tickets go on sale from 9am BST (8am IST) on Saturday August 31 and will be available here for UK shows, and here for the Irish dates.

Oasis Live 2025 UK and Ireland tour dates are: 

Oasis fans have been expressing their excitement over the band’s long-awaited return, and speculating over a potential headline set at Glastonbury – where the Gallaghers last topped the bill in 2004.

Meanwhile, plans are also currently “underway” for further Oasis live concerts outside of Europe.

It is not yet known who will join Liam and Noel in the reformed iteration of Oasis. However, recent reports claimed “no other original Oasis member is expected to join the reunion”, and that “the members of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds will step in for the concerts”.

Elsewhere, the conversation has turned to who could support Oasis on their 2025 tour – with the likes of Kasabian and Blossoms being among the acts mentioned. Additionally, fans have been revisiting the band’s final 2009 setlist to get an idea of what they might play next year.

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