Box office return for Oasis
Brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher have a charisma that’s not exactly prevalent among many artists headlining stadiums today.
This time 30 years ago they played Páirc Uí Chaoimh at the peak of their powers and there was a big buzz in Cork that week.
I’ll always remember it because while they were playing in Blackrock I was playing the first records in a brand new bar, the Isobar, which helped to unleash a new era for nightlife in Cork. Alongside the Bodega, the Isobar was a slightly more sophisticated bar than we had previously seen, and I guess in hindsight you could say it was symbolic of the incoming Celtic Tiger era in Ireland.
Similarly in England, the national mood seemed to be lifted around that time, and the country was buzzing with pride after a buoyant performance in Euro 96, which was held in the UK.
Britpop had emerged and groups such as Oasis, who ironically always played up their Irish heritage, captured the imagination of young music fans who admired their swagger and confidence and catchy tunes.
This was a country emerging from the Thatcher era where football and music were far from fashionable national pursuits, but by the mid ’90s Sky TV and glossy music magazines and tabloids wanted something new to talk about. It didn’t matter that much of it was harking back to previous decades such as the ’60s so it should be no surprise that 30 years on the same nostalgia is biting hard again.
Other British cultural contributions from that era were a bit more measured in their approach, and I’ll be the first to admit I was more into rap, rave, jungle, drum ’n’ bass, street soul, and trip-hop (despite the horrible name) that emerged in cities such as Bristol, Manchester, and London at the time. Oasis were pretty good, in fairness, but a bit too derivative for my tastes, but you could never really question their popularity.
I may have preferred Massive Attack, Portishead, Roni Size, or Rae & Christian, but you could see why Liam and Noel crossed over into the mainstream in a way that still resonates. Even now, despite only ever releasing two decent albums, they remain hugely popular among generations of fans who would not have been around at the time. They remain box office and have enough anthems to make sure that their Croke Park gigs will be big events for their fans of all ages.
Having put off a reunion for so long, you’d have to expect that they are both smart enough not to jeopardise it now that the shows are lined up.
Whether they record new music is largely irrelevant here, and I’d imagine both are going to see how it goes first before making further commitments. A lot of the biggest comebacks musically don’t traditionally rely on new music as such. I can’t remember too many people getting excited about potential new music from Blondie, Velvet Underground, The Police, and the Pixies et al. But these bands were in demand because of their legacy.
Many young fans would never have seen Oasis and for those who were there nostalgia is strong. There’s a reason why many big festivals are still headlined by The Prodigy and the Chemical Brothers and Underworld and others. Music and nostalgia always go hand in hand and people will feel young hearing the songs they sang and played when they were young. There’s nothing new or nothing wrong with this.
I have written in depth in the last few years about how the music industry is lacking in stars at the moment and the Gallagher brothers have a charisma that’s not exactly prevalent in many of the artists who are headlining stadiums here these days.
Ed Sheeran seems like a nice guy, and I’m sure the lads in Coldplay are too, but they wouldn’t be the most rock ’n’ roll of artists. The same could be said for Taylor Swift, while of the elder statesmen, it would be fair to imagine that both Bruce Springsteen and Elton John have left their partying days behind them too. The younger Gallagher may playact a bit, but it’s rock ’n’ roll, and between now and next August, it will help to at least bring some excitement and anticipation to the table.
