When Oasis’ hugely anticipated reunion gets underway in fewer than two months from now, expect Andy Bell to take his position on stage.
Bell played bass guitar alongside the Gallagher brothers from 1999, replacing Paul McGuigan, and stayed on until the legendary Britpop rock band split in 2009. Later, he joined Liam Gallagher’s Beady Eye project, which landed two top 3 albums in the UK.
Bell, a member of shoegaze icons Ride who, like Oasis, was signed to Alan McGee’s Creation Records, shared the news in an interview published by Austrian newspaper Oe24.
“I’m in and I’m really looking forward to it,” he remarked. “We’ll see each other on tour. Or rather, you’ll see me – I’ll hardly be able to see you in the audience.”
It was Bell who a year ago suggested that Oasis would reunite, a “hell freezing over moment” that millions wanted, and no one expected.
“Andy bell from ride the shoe gazing phenomenon should really not be getting people’s hopes up it’s not big and and it’s not clever,” Liam Gallagher tweeted in April 2024. In a followup, Liam wrote, “I’ve never mentioned oasis reunion it’s over we must all really move in for our own mental health.”
What a difference a few months make.
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Liam and Noel Gallagher buried the hatchet and announced the Oasis Live ’25 tour last August, although the siblings have stated that they won’t be doing any joint interviews for the trek.
The Oasis Live ’25 jaunt is scheduled to kick off July 4 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium, followed by dates in North America, Mexico, South Korea and Japan. All told, the Manchester band will play 41 concerts.
No official comment has been made on Bell’s spot and the makeup of Oasis’ touring band hasn’t been confirmed, while guitarists Gem Archer and Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs and drummer Joey Waronker are rumoured to be in the lineup.
Fans, meanwhile, are playing a guessing game on which classic songs will enter the setlist.
Oasis will visit Australia’s east coast starting with the first of three shows at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium, October 31st, and wrapping up with back-to-back shows at Sydney’s Accor Stadium, November 7th and 8th.
Beloved Brisbane indie outfit Ball Park Music are joining Oasis for the Australian leg, produced by Live Nation. Ball Park Music’s eighth and latest studio LP Like Love opened at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart last month.
In other news, the band’s manager, Alec McKinlay, has said that the concerts will be Oasis’ ’ final stand in terms of both live shows and recorded music.
“This is very much the last time around, as Noel’s made clear in the press,” McKinlay told Music Week. “It’s a chance for fans who haven’t seen the band to see them, or at least for some of them to.” He added, “There’s no plan for any new music.”
