Sources close to the upcoming Oasis reunion tour has revealed details of who’ll be playing in the band line-up to NME.
Ever since Noel and Liam Gallagher buried the hatchet to announce the Britpop icons’ return for a run of comeback shows in stadiums across the world for their Oasis Live ’25 tour, much speculation has surrounded who’ll be joining the brothers in their live band for the huge summer gigs.
The rumour mill in regards to the make-up of the band has seen a number of past members’ names enter the fray. Initially, reports claimed “no other original Oasis member were expected to join the reunion”, and that the members of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds would be stepping in for the rest of the group.
Drummer Alan White got fans talking last year after he posted an image of his drum kit with a swirling Union Jack design, while original sticksman Tony McCarroll said that the band “hadn’t reached out yet and to be honest I’m not holding my breath” following their public legal battle.
The likes of regulars Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs, Gem Archer, Andy Bell, Zak Starkey, Jessica Greenfield, Russell Pritchard, Chris Sharrock, Mike Rowe have also been on the table. Last week saw Liam jokingly tease a line-up consisting of Peppa Pig, Sesame Street‘s Bert and Ernie and finger bobs.
Now, sources working closely with the band and tour have told NME that the below members will make up the live band for this summer’s Oasis dates:
Long-rumoured to be returning to the fold, Andy Bell is said to be picking up the bass for Oasis once again having stepped in for Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan from 1999 to 2009 before following Liam into the spin-off band Beady Eye. As well as being a member of indie heroes Ride and recently forming supergroup Mantra Of The Cosmos with Happy Mondays‘ Shaun Ryder and Bez (who also dropped a single featuring Noel Gallagher) Bell recently released his third solo album ‘Pinball Wanderer’ – which also featured his old Oasis bandmate and longtime collaborator Gem Archer.
Speaking of whom, we’re told that Archer will be back on guitar. Stepping in after the departure of Bonehead, Archer would also play with Oasis from 1999 to 2009 – before going on to work with both Gallaghers afterwards as part of Beady Eye and Noel’s High Flying Birds. The years have also seen him as part of Heavy Stereo, Proud Mary and a collaborator of the likes of Paul Weller.
The beloved Bonehead has been tied to the Oasis reunion line-up since the off, having been a regular fixture on stage with Liam in his successful years as a solo artist. Now, we understand that Arthurs will be back on guitar alongside Noel and Archer for an all-star Oasis formation this summer.
One of the “new faces” that Liam teased would be part of the line-up, Joey Waronker is an esteemed and prolific drummer and producer who has played with the likes of Beck, R.E.M., Elliott Smith and Roger Waters, as well as being a member of Thom Yorke‘s Atoms For Peace band and experimental rock outfit Ultraísta with Nigel Godrich. He may have never played with Oasis before, but he was behind the drum kit for the live band touring last year’s collaborative album from Liam and John Squire. Sources close to the band and tour tell NME that there is much excitement from the camp about having such a respected muso on drums for the reunion line-up.
Due to kick off in Cardiff on Friday July 4, the Oasis’ Live ’25 reunion tour sees a long-run of UK dates as their only shows in Europe this year, before the band head to stadiums across North America, South America, Australia and Asia.
In a statement to fans upon the initial announcement, the band shared:
“The guns have fallen silent.
The stars have aligned.
The great wait is over.
Come see.
It will not be televised.”
he sale of tickets to the UK leg was met with controversy due to the practice of dynamic ‘surge’ pricing (which is now being investigated by the government), with Ticketmaster recently cancelling thousands of tickets that they believed to be purchased by bots in a bid to crackdown on secondary ticket websites and touts (to the upset of many fans who argued they’d been wrongly accused).
More recently, Liam has been teasing a new album from the band. In September, when one fan asked “Is it true that Oasis will have a new album???”, Liam replied: “Yep, it’s already finished.” He also responded to a fan asking if a new record was “in the air”, to which he said, “It’s in the bag mate fuck the air”.
However, he soon backtracked on his earlier claims, telling fans in November there was “no Oasis album in the making” and that he “was fucking joking”. He also recently hit back at “fake news” in the tabloids that he’d met up with Noel and Bonehead in London.