Noel Gallagher breaks silence on Oasis ticket chaos and reveals his favourite songs by band

Noel Gallagher has broken his silence on the ticket chaos for the upcoming Oasis reunion tour, and revealed his favourite songs by the band.

• READ MORE: Noel Gallagher points out the “flaws” on all Oasis and his solo albums

When tickets for the highly awaited string of shows were first announced back in August, Oasis revealed efforts to prevent touts from re-selling tickets at inflated prices by partnering with resale platform Twickets and issuing a statement to say that tickets sold for profit on other sites would be cancelled.

However, when tickets finally went on sale that month, and promptly sold out following multi-hour-long queues, it was reported that four per cent of them – or roughly 50,000 – ended up on resale sites.

Some even popped up on secondary ticket sites for as much as £10,000, causing the band to write on social media: “We have noticed people attempting to sell tickets on the secondary market since the start of the pre-sale. Please note, tickets can ONLY be resold, at face value, via Ticketmaster and Twickets.”

In February, thousands of tickets were then cancelled by Ticketmaster in a crackdown on bots, but many fans claimed they have been targeted wrongfully. NME contacted Ticketmaster for a response at the time, and they advised anybody with queries to consult their ‘Oasis Refunds FAQ’ page here.

Now, Noel Gallagher has responded to the immense rush for tickets. In a new interview with former NME photographer Kevin Cummins for his new book Oasis: The Masterplan – published March 27 and available here – the musician said he was surprised by the scale of demand.

“I thought it’d be a big deal, but I was a bit taken aback by just how much of a big deal it was,” he said.

He may have also provided a hint as to what songs will make it onto the setlist, when Cummins quizzed him on his favourite Oasis song. “Can I have more than one? ‘Supersonic’, ‘Some Might Say’, ‘Live Forever’ and ‘Rock’n’Roll Star,” he said.

In an interview with NME in 2023, Noel revealed the tracks he likes the least, and outlined what he saw as the “flaws” in Oasis’s discography.

“Well I don’t like the sound of ‘Morning Glory’ at all,” he said. “The only album that is perfect would be ‘Definitely Maybe’. ‘Be Here Now’, the songs are too long. ‘Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants’, not enough good songs and a lot of filler on that.

“‘Heathen Chemistry’ had a couple of good tunes: ‘Little By Little’ and ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’, the rest of it is a bit ‘meh’. ‘Don’t Believe The Truth’ is pretty good, ‘Dig Out Your Soul’ kind of tails off towards the end. They’re all flawed in some way.”

Ticket sales also came under controversy when fans found they were listed for hugely inflated prices due to “dynamic” pricing (an automatic surge increase due to demand). Both the CMA and the European Commission are investigating the issue.

Oasis have said that they “at no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used” in the sale, claiming that “prior meetings between promoters, Ticketmaster and the band’s management resulted in a positive ticket sale strategy, which would be a fair experience for fans, including dynamic ticketing to help keep general ticket prices down as well as reduce touting, the execution of the plan failed to meet expectations.”

The band later announced “a small step towards making amends for the situation” with “a special invitation-only ballot ticket sale strategy” for two additional Wembley gigs on September 27 and 28.

In anticipation of the tour, which kicks off on July 4 in Cardiff, sources close to the band told NME that the band’s line-up will include Andy Bell, Gem Archer, Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs and Joey Waronker, alongside Noel and Liam Gallagher.

Meanwhile, Train company LNER has announced a special ‘She’s Electric’ train route for the band’s first Wembley reunion gig this summer.

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