What Oasis's Non-Reunion At Glastonbury Says About Reunion Hype
What Oasis's Non-Reunion At Glastonbury Says About Reunion Hype
Two simple words, yet so much weight. Not quite a denial, not quite a confirmation. Just…a dismissive.
Yet that was Noel Gallagher’s response when he briefed on growing speculation that his younger brother Liam Gallagher was set to perform the very next day at the annual Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, England, perhaps as an opportunity for a band reunion. Noel was present at the festival for a screening of the Oasis documentary Supersonic. Liam was at the festival too, to perform his set as a solo artist. The equation was all set: Liam and Noel+Glastonbury=Oasis Reunion.
Noel and Liam both have ventured off into separate directions musically since their band Oasis brokeup in 2009. When the band was together Noel was the principle songwriter and Liam was more the vivacious singing front man. The brothers success after Oasis does not match, as Noel’s band Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds vastly out shined Liam’s attempt with now disbanded Beady Eye. Liam announced this year that he would release a solo album “As You Were” in October, discrediting previous statements that he would never opt for that route.
With the two brothers active in the music scene and present on the same festival grounds at the same time,speculation amassed into a deluge of reports surmising an opportunity for an Oasis reunion. Fans and audiences have been hungry for a reunion and this seemed to them to be the ripe opportunity.
Which makes Noel’s “no comment” response all the more stimulating. Liam has stated that it is Noel and not he that is preventing a reunion, with Liam tweeting out earlier in the year “my bags are packed” in reference to a reunion. Speculation grew so rapidly that earlier in the year Vegas had to suspend bets on a reunion after stakes reached 5/4 odds.
Alas, the weekend came and went, Noel played the movie and Liam sang his songs, and both performed separately. Months of hopeful speculation and frivolous reporting amounted to a disappointing conclusion.
So, will Oasis ever reunite? The nature of their separation might provide foresight when compared to other high profile band break-ups. Some bands end abruptly through acrimonious splits like Oasis, the Beatles, blink-182, Simon and Garfunkel and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Other bands disband for emphatic reasons like Led Zeppelin did in the aftermath of drummer John Bonham’s death. Some bands disband through tour boredom and creative exhaustion like The Walkmen and LCD Soundsystem.
Knowing the history of the aforementioned bands, it would feel strange to see Oasis take any of these routes towards reunion. Given the high profile personality of each Gallagher brother, it’s not impossible to imagine them averse to intermittent reunions like Simon and Garfunkel. The brothers almost certainly wouldn’t collaborate on music to be released under the others name like members of the Beatles did after their break up.
Of the bands mentioned with break-ups, two possibilities exists for Oasis to mimic a renuion. Led Zeppelin reunited for one night in 2007 at London’s O2 arena, an event that Guinness World Records holds as “The Highest Demand for Tickets for One Music Concert.” This would do well for the brothers bank accounts, as Noel has stated he would only reunite for astronomical amounts of money. It would give the brothers a chance to remember the feeling and exhilaration of adulation from an Oasis crowd and their egos might be hungry enough to believe that a full reunion would feed them a new buffet of success.
And the other, more likely possibility, would be a partial reunion in name only, absent of key members (or member), like what blink-182 did in the ousting of Tom Delonge. What could happen would be Liam reuniting part of the band without brother Noel. Liam and the band would perform as Oasis and be absent of Noel’s songwriting ability. It would be Oasis, but a bastardized version, watered down as a cheap gimmick to sell tickets and weakly attempt a return to former glory days. If Liam opted for this route, it would be nothing but a Greatest Hits tour with probably faint attempts at new material.
All in all, this past weekend of a non-reunion should be a reminder that bands break up and reunite throughout their lives. The audience has the responsibility to acknowledge the past and embrace the future, but not to take upon ourselves to determine the bands interests. For all the history that swirls around Oasis, it ostensibly is more rich than their future. Attitudes, talents and emotions are all contributing factors to the bands status with money seemingly the second deciding factor in the brothers minds. If the band does reunite, don’t forget that its not just a band reunion, but a family reunion first. And you just can’t let money get in the way of family.
https://tunecollective.com/2017/06/27/oasiss-non-reunion-glastonbury-says-reunion-hype/
