Liam Gallagher has hit out at fans ‘crying’ over Oasis choosing 1990s legend Richard Ashcroft to support them on their 2025 over young bands.
This week the duo announced their ‘special guest’ for all their UK and Ireland shows in 2025 will be former The Verve frontman and solo artist Richard.
But now Liam, 52, has given some fans a piece of his mind, as he took to X in the wake of the announcement and wrote: ‘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.’
For months there’s been a whole load of chatter about which indie legends will get the call up for Oasis’ much-anticipated reunion tour after their 15-year absence.
Richard is booked for all Oasis’ UK and Ireland dates next year, leaving the rumour of Blossoms dead in the water.
A longtime friend of both Liam and Noel Gallagher, Oasis supported Richard’s The Verve – known then as simply Verve – in 1993.
The Verve were formed in Wigan in 1989 by Richard, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones and drummer Peter Sailsbury, and their biggest hits include Bittersweet Symphony and The Drugs Don’t Work.
Liam posted the official teaser with Richard, him and Noel in various pictures over the years.
On the news, Richard said: ‘As a fan from day one I was buzzing for many reasons when the news of Oasis’s 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. They dared to be great, made the dreams we had real and I will always remember those days with joy.
‘Now it’s time to create more memories and I’m ready to bring it. See you next summer. Music is power.’
The Independent previously reported band Cast will also perform – though this hasn’t been confirmed. The outlet’s sources suggested the order will be Cast, followed by Ashcroft, then Oasis.
Alongside Oasis and Blur, Cast were major players in the Britpop movement, and they shared the stage with the Gallagher brothers for their iconic Knebworth Park shows in 1996.
Cast were formed in Liverpool in 1992 by John Power and Peter Wilkinson after the former left The La’s – who were responsible for hit track There She Goes – and together their best-known songs include Alright, Finetime and Sandstorm.
This comes after Liam teased the news on social media, writing: ‘Just spoke to the CHEF here it is OASIS RICHARD ASHCROFT CAST you are welcome see you nxt year.’.
He added: ‘we never set sail without the 1 and only RICARDO he’s our boy from day DOT come aboard Rkid.’
Fans will know Chef means Noel, who was nicknamed this during the band’s heyday.
Liam’s X ramblings don’t always have substance to them, but now Richard is officially confirmed.
Noel wrote the song Cast No Shadow from their second album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? as a tribute to Richard, and it includes the lyrics: ‘Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say / Chained to all the places that he never wished to stay / Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say / As he faced the sun he cast no shadow.’
The Oasis songwriter explained in an interview with Select magazine that Richard always seemed to ‘not be very happy about what was going on around him, almost trying too hard’.
He added: ‘I always felt he was born in the wrong place, and he was always trying to say the right things, but they came out wrong.’
Richard later told The Guardian of the lyrics: ‘I can’t work out if he means I’m a witch, vampire or just incredibly emaciated and thin cos, you know, I haven’t really got enough body mass to cast a shadow?’
Noel once called Richard a ‘genius’ on Radio 1, and said ‘circumstances worked against’ The Verve.
He went on, as per RadioX: ‘I don’t write songs about many people – I’ve written songs about him [Liam], I’ve written songs about me mam, I’ve written songs about my wife, I’ve written songs about Richard Ashcroft.
‘That man is a genius and I tell you what, man, he ain’t doing it for himself, he’s doing it for me. He has got to be a better songwriter than me and in return, I’ve got to write better songs than him. That’s what it’s about.
‘People are going to build up this thing about The Verve and Oasis, but we go back SO far, from Manchester and Wigan, that they will never be able to touch the bond and the friendship that we have.’
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