It’s that time again: whether you’re bored of it or not, rumours surrounding a potential Oasis reunion are once again circling after a sign reading “reserved for Noel” was spotted at a recent Liam Gallagher gig.
Liam is currently on tour here in the UK playing Definitely Maybe in full for the debut album’s 30th anniversary – set to arrive for the first of four shows in Manchester this weekend – and has now played all four of his dates at The O2 in London.
And, given that his estranged sibling lives predominantly in London and has been there ever since the mid-1990s, many fans are now speculating whether the younger Gallagher left Noel an open invitation to come to his show after the aforementioned sign was spotted in the arena.
According to Simon Love (former frontman for the indie-pop band, The Loves), who was in town for Liam‘s gig on Tuesday night, the sign was left on the seat in front of him in the hospitality section.
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However, one commenter was quick to claim, “Liam leaves one at every show, in the hope that one day, one day, Noel will show up…”, to which Love humorously responded, “Like Ricky Bobby” in reference to Will Ferrell’s character and his absentee father in Talladega Nights.
Nevertheless, a source close to Gallagher’s team told The Independent that Liam “had nothing to do with the reserved sign and it was likely ‘someone in hospitality having a wind-up'” – but then again he would say, that wouldn’t he!?…
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All in all, the tongue-in-cheek response felt rather fitting as although many were hopeful there might be some substance to what was likely a prank by Love himself, even more were quick to dismiss this as little more than hot air. Liam did ultimately go on to meet up with another rock legend after the show though.
Even if there is any semblance of truth to whether or not Liam reserved a seat for Noel at his gigs and the latter simply snubbed him, we’ll likely never know the real story, but we’d love to keep imagining that he leaves a sign out there every time just on the off chance.
It’s widely known that the pair’s ongoing feud isn’t expected to end anytime soon, no matter how many times Liam has offered a jokey but half-serious olive branch in an effort to give the fans what they want: an Oasis reunion.
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As for ‘The Mighty I’, he’s busy playing his own shows and creating more music under the High Flying Birds moniker and has already insisted it would take some “extraordinary circumstances” for the two to get back together, though he did have one alternative suggestion.
That being said, Liam is still doing more than his bit to keep playing Oasis songs live to as many people as possible, with the 51-year-old already teasing more anniversary shows next year.
We think we speak for everyone when we say MAKE THIS HAPPEN! 🤞
Catfish and the Bottlemen stun fans with surprise Heaton Park gig
Danny Jones
Whilst most of their followers have been fretting that they were getting ready to break up again, Catfish and the Bottlemen have just stunned everyone by announcing a surprise gig at Heaton Park in Manchester.
Out of nowhere.
The Welsh rockers have been back touring together this year after a three-year hiatus, playing multiple festival sets and headline dates at the likes of Cardiff Castle and released their first new music back in February – much to the delight of fans all over the country – and now they’re coming back to 0161.
Set to play the biggest stage in Manchester next summer, just less than a month before Heaton Park erupts into bedlam for the Oasis 2025 shows, Catfish and the Bottlemen will make their Manc return on Friday 15 June.
Now, don’t get us wrong, this is wonderful news if it all goes ahead as planned, but it has to be said that there is some hesitation coming from interested gig-goers – ourselves included.
Catfish have caught a lot of flack recently for cancelling their Australian tour on the day it was meant to start along with the entire run of US shows “due to artist illness”, with little detail given to fans other than how to sort their refunds. But it gets worse…
They also cancelled their Dublin gig at the RDS Simmonscourt just 15 minutes before doors were set to open and with fans already waiting outside the venue. Again, not the best look.
Perhaps more concerningly, even at some of the shows that have gone ahead this year, there have been concerns raised around the nature and quality of their performances, as well as the wellbeing of charismatic if albeit a bit chaotic frontman Van McCann.
The Oasis reunion shows have also put a bit of a spanner in the works when it comes to their upcoming London shows next year too, as both bands are set to play the capital on the same day. It remains to be seen how many of those tickets will now be put up for resale.
We’re reserving judgment for now but you can understand some of the reticence.
Nevertheless, we’re not going to pretend that we’re not absolutely buzzing to hear this news and we’re hoping that this massive Manchester show goes ahead and off without a hitch.
They last came to town in 2019 when they played the AO Arena and played one of their final shows before the split just down the road at Neighbourhood Weekender back in 2021, so it’s fair to say it’s been a while. Keep everything crossed, Catfish fans.
General admission goes live next Friday, 4 October at 10am but you can access pre-sale, which starts at the same time on Wednesday, 2 October, by signing up via the mailing list.
You can grab tickets for Catfish and the Bottlemen at Heaton Park, Manchester HERE and good luck to us all.
Featured Images — Press Images (supplied)/Silly Little Man (via Flickr)
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Fontaines D.C. announce massive Manchester gig at Wythenshawe Park
Danny Jones
Undoubtedly one of the most exciting bands on the planet right now, Fontaines D.C. have just announced one their biggest headline dates yet as they are the latest act set to take Manchester’s Wythenshawe Park stage.
Fontaines already have a sell-out Manchester show coming up at Aviva Studios (arguably the biggest acts that have played the new arts venue yet) but now they’re set to level up to one of the biggest stages in the region next summer.
That’s right, following in the footsteps of legends such as Noel Gallagher, New Order, Johnny Marr and the likes of Blossoms earlier this year, the Dubliners are the first artist to be named as part of Live From Wythenshawe Park 2025.
Not even remotely exaggerating, this is going to be utterly enormous.
Landing in Manchester for the massive outdoor gig on Friday, 15 August – 2025 being just the third year of the now must-not-miss annual event – the young post-punk and alternative rockers are effectively skipping several steps on the gig venue ladder to play the huge summer festival.
The announcement comes fresh off the back of the release of Romance, the band’s biggest record to date. Produced by James Ford and met with incredible responses from fans and reviewers alike, it’s categorically one of the albums of the year.
Elton John recently declared that they are “the best band out there at the moment” and with NME dubbing them as “the defining band of their generation”, not to mention massive sets at Glastonbury’s Park Stage and Reading and Leeds, this date shouldn’t really come as that as much of a surprise.
That being said, what we couldn’t have predicted was how amazing the support acts were going to be, as warming the all-day festival crowd up will be none other than critically-acclaimed Belfast rap trio, Kneecap, and Leeds’ Mercury Prize-winning indie outfit, English Teacher.
Fontaines will be smashing an already seismic gig at London’s Finsbury Park next July, but then they’ll be bringing their unreal live atmosphere to Wythenshawe Park just a month later, and with Kneecap in tow too, you can guarantee a big Irish delegation will be turning up for this one.
General admission for Fontaines D.C. Live From Wythenshawe Park goes live next Friday, October 4 at 9am but you can access pre-sale, available from the same time on Wednesday, 2 October,by signing up for the mailing list.
You can get ready to grab your tickets HERE and, as always, good luck with securing these ones!