Oasis in Croke Park, Dublin, on Saturday, 16th August 2025

Love them or loathe them, there’s been nobody better at keeping their band alive and kicking while not being together than the Gallagher brothers. The constant cycle of attack and retort since their split in 2009 has been phenomenally successful in keeping the band in the public eye.

Whilst the odd decent tune aside, neither of their solo careers produced much to write home about, the constant back-and-forth and will-they-won’t-they only seemed to make people want them to put the past behind them and get back to what they both do best – Oasis.

Even the disastrous reformation of The Stone Roses couldn’t dissuade the people from the illusive nostalgia of the ’90s when people still queued at midnight outside record stores to buy albums and Oasis were the great unifying soundtrack.

The second coming was received with a flow of emotion rarely seen amongst the general population. Rumours of prospective line-ups filled the internet. Would Guigsy and Bonehead return? Some hopeless romantics even pondered whether there would be a place for original drummer Tony McCarroll in 2025.

Romance soon gave way to rage at dynamic pricing, but the omnipotent power of the bucket hat prevailed. As it turned out, people would happily live on beans and toast for an opportunity to relive their youth.

Having made their adoring fans wait 14 years Oasis weren’t going to do anything stupid and whilst there was plenty of Heathen Chemistry on stage, there was no room for ‘The Hindu Times’ or ‘The Shock of The Lightning’. The setlist would be laser focused on their early albums and the second greatest B-Side collection of the Britpop era, The Masterplan (Suede’s Sci-Fi Lullabies remains the greatest).

From the moment they strode onstage to the traditional strains of ‘Fuckin’ In The Bushes’, Oasis delivered a masterclass in shut up and play the hits with ‘Hello’, the obvious opener proper, giving way to an exuberant ‘Acquiesce’. ‘Some Might Say’ and ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’ were delivered with gusto, Liam’s voice and stage persona filling Croke Park with ease. Not that it needed too; every lyric was conjured from the dusty corners of the assembled crowd’s minds and given a guttural release.

‘Bring It On Down’ and Britpop war single ‘Roll With It’ are received like an Ice Cold in Alex pint. Why does nobody ever mention that Blur cheated by releasing two singles for €1.99? And there’s no show like a Noel show as Gallagher Snr. takes the lead for ‘Talk Tonight’ and ‘Half The World Away’ as the night takes an MTV Unplugged detour.

‘D’You Know What I Mean?, ‘Live Forever’ and ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ delivered more opportunities for the newly formed Croke Park choir to express themselves while ‘Cast No Shadow’ provided a rare moment of respite from the bravado.

The encore was a hit laden affair, ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ and ‘Wonderwall’ reminding us of the unifying power of a simple melody, while ‘Champagne Supernova’, with its skyscraper chorus and quizzical lyrics, provided the perfect send-off to a night that nobody ever truly believed was feasible.