By Samantha Masters
On Friday, a sold-out crowd of 75,000 Oasis fans gathered together to watch the pair’s first gig since 2009 at Cardiff ‘s Principality Stadium. Belting out their greatest hits from Wonderwall to Champagne Supernova, videos show the crowd in high spirits as they embraced the moment they’ve all been waiting for. It was 16 years ago that Noel Gallagher quit the band after a backstage fight with his brother Liam, and the siblings had struggled to make amends from that moment on. During their separate music paths, Noel went on to front his band High Flying Birds, while Liam formed Beady Eye. In what some believed was fake news at first, the siblings sent fans wild in August 2024 when they finally announced their long-awaited reunion. This came after Noel reportedly turned down a 拢100million deal for a comeback, and insisted it would only happen in the form of a hologram. Fast forward 11 months, and it’s finally happening. The pair’s opening show in Wales is just one of 41 gigs in their schedule. Following their first show, many critics and attendees have shared their thoughts, and the reviews have mostly been positive. According to one concertgoer however, the pair’s gig was everything the fans had hoped for, though one thing was obvious. The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis claims there was distance between the brothers on stage, which seemingly proves that the reunion is solely a cash opportunity. Alongside his five out of five star rating, he wrote: “No one, including, to their immense credit, Liam and Noel Gallagher, is interested in pretending this tour is anything other than a hugely lucrative cash-grab, and clearly you only grab the maximum possible cash if the tour doesn’t descend into the kind of bedlam to which Oasis tours were once prone.” He added: “Liam and Noel have rhythm guitarist Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs stood squarely between them on stage, creating distance. “You could say that removes a hint of their old combustibility, the hint of potential chaos that was at least part of Oasis’ appeal.” While there may have been some distance on stage, videos show the brothers holding hands as they walked onto the stage, a moment nobody thought they’d see again. During the show, Liam also thanked fans for “putting up with” them, adding: “I know we’re hard work.” With reported earnings of 拢400 million for the tour, it’s no wonder that the pair couldn’t refuse the offer. This eye-watering sum is an estimated total of ticket sales, merchandise, as well as the likes of sponsorship deals. Some tickets for the gigs have cost over 拢800 to attend, sparking fury amongst fans. Addressing the expensive tickets on stage, Liam joked: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e all having a good time yeah? Was it worth the 拢40,000 you paid for a ticket?鈥 The Oasis brothers will perform at Cardiff again this evening, before heading to Heaton Park in Manchester for five performances on July 11, 12, 16, 19, and 20.