Liam Gallagher has addressed the fans who are unhappy with Oasis not booking younger bands for a support slot.
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After weeks of speculation about who’ll be supporting them on their reunion tour, they confirmed Richard Ashcroft as a special guest for their 2025 UK and Ireland reunion tour earlier this month.
The former frontman of The Verve is set to open for the Britpop band on each date of the trek next summer, which includes seven nights at London’s Wembley Stadium and five gigs at Manchester’s Heaton Park.
The news came after recent reports suggested that Ashcroft and Cast (who have not yet been announced) would join the Gallaghers on the road for Oasis Live ’25.
Richard Ashcroft and Oasis’ Liam Gallagher in 2009. CREDIT: Dave M. Benett/Getty
In a statement about the forthcoming massive support slots, Ashcroft said: “As a fan from day one I was buzzing for many reasons when the news of Oasis’ return was announced.
“I can say with no exaggeration that the songwriting talent of Noel and Liam’s pure spirit as a lead singer helped to inspire me to create some of my best work. It was the perfection of ‘Live Forever’ that forced me to try and write my own.”
However, some fans felt it was a wasted opportunity to spotlight younger, more up-and-coming bands, particularly after many took to social media to speculate that Fontaines D.C. and Courtneers might get the slot.
Liam has since addressed them in a post on X/Twitter, writing: “To all the folk who are crying about us not showing love to the young bands and not letting them support there’s LEVELS to this game and I’m afraid 99 p cent of ya are way off LFUCKING.”
Elsewhere, Fontaines D.C. members said they “couldn’t really give a shit” about the Oasis reunion. In an interview with Studio Brussel, Carlos O’Connell and Conor Deegan III said that the news of the reunion goes against what they were hoping to achieve with their own music.
“I couldn’t really give a shit, to be honest,” O’Connell responded when the interviewer asked him if he was excited about Liam and Noel Gallagher getting back together, while Deegan added: “I’m not excited about it either, to be honest. I feel like we get caught in the last era – like the ’10s – and into such a nostalgic thing that we’re forgetting to make new things.”
While Deegan and O’Connell weren’t too enthusiastic about the Britpop icons getting back together, the band’s frontman Grian Chatten made it clear that he didn’t share the same stance.
Posting a comment on one of NME‘s recent Instagram posts, the vocalist wrote: “I love Oasis. This is not my opinion”.
Taking to X/Twitter once again, Liam responded to a fan who asked if the band would be considered as an opening act for the Oasis tour, and said: “Fuck them little spunkbubbles I’ve seen better dressed ROADIES.”
The post Liam Gallagher hits back at critics of Oasis for not booking young bands as tour support: “There’s levels to this game” appeared first on NME.
