Who will be the support acts on the UK leg of Oasis’ 2025 world tour?

Since Oasis announced a string of comeback tour dates back in August, there has been great speculation about which bands they will be taking with them on the road. Liam even invited fans to make their own suggestions as to which support acts they would like to see warming up for them.

According to several reports in the UK, Oasis will be taking their old pals with them - at least for the UK/Ireland leg of the tour, and Liam has sort of confirmed it, in his own way, on X. It will be an all-north west line-up, with big name artists from the Brit Pop era.

Cast ready to rock

Liverpool band Cast have been named as one of the two support acts. Formed in 1992 by La’s bass player John Power, Cast went through a couple of personnel changes before settling on the four-piece line-up (Power, Skin, Pete Wilkinson and Keith O’Neill) who debuted on Polydor with their platinum-seller All Change in 1995.

By that time, Oasis were already massive, riding on the successes of their first two albums and gods of the so-called, new Brit Pop scene.

It might come as a surprise to many, but in spite of the largely media-spun rivalry that exists between Manchester and Liverpool as cities, when it comes to music there is an almost fraternal relationship between the two. Bands and musicians help each other out - with gigs, rehearsal space, recording studio time or lending equipment.

During their formative years, Oasis always had somewhere to play in Liverpool. Their early gigs at Le Bateau, the Krazyhouse and the Lomax (all now long gone) entered folklore and the people that attended them still talk wistfully about those nights even today. Liam and Noel also made a lot of friends - the Griffiths brothers Chris and Tony, AKA the Real People, who helped them record their first demo tape; Peter “Digsy” Deary, the inspiration for one of the songs on the first album - who producer Mark Coyle described his first encounter with, “like opening a bag of monkeys”. And of course Cast, who they’ve known right from the start and who recently opened for Liam on his Definitely Maybe 30th anniversary tour.

After splitting in 2001, Cast reformed in 2010 and remain active with Jay Lewis replacing Wilkinson, with Lightning Seeds bassman Martyn Campbell filling in during this year’s tour dates promoting their new album Love Is The Call. It is believed that Cast will be the opening act on the Oasis tour.

Northern soulboy, Richard Ashcroft

Following them on stage will be another close friend of Liam and Noel from back in the day - Wigan’s finest, Richard Ashcroft, frontman of legendary 90s band The Verve. Cast No Shadow, the eighth track on Oasis’ second album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? is about Ashcroft. Noel told Select Magazine what inspired him to dedicate a song to his ethereal, specter-like pal.

“He always seemed to me to not be very happy about what was going on around him, almost trying too hard. That’s why it goes, ‘He was bound with the weight of all the words he tried to say.’ I always felt he was born at the wrong place, and in the wrong place, and he was always trying to say the right things, but they came out wrong.

“I played him the song, and he nearly started crying. I was like, ‘Come on, hold yourself together, son! Easy now. In a way, it’s about all my friends who were in groups. We are bound with the weight of all the words we have to say. We’re always looking for more.”

The Verve were already well established well before Oasis and Cast had even formed but didn’t hit the jackpot until 1995′s Urban Hymns, which included Bitter Sweet Symphony and The Drugs Don’t Work - both anthems which defined the era. It’s a mystery why Ashcroft isn’t more widely acclaimed although he and the band still have a large following.

Bitter Sweet Symphony was a huge hit but Ashcroft hardly saw a penny for writing it. Because the song contained a four bar-sample of an obscure version of the Rolling Stones song The Last Time recorded by the Andrew Oldham Orchestra, he had to sign away any royalties. The composition rights belonged to Allen Klein-owned company ABKCO Records, who snaffled the profits - an estimated $5 million in publishing revenue.

Fortunately there was a happy ending. In April 2019, ABKCO, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards agreed to return the Bitter Sweet Symphony royalties and songwriting credits to Ashcroft.

The Verve split definitively in 2009 but Ashcroft has remained active and has released seven solo albums, the most recent, revisiting his 11x platinum 1997 release.

While there has been no official word about who will be supporting Oasis next year, Liam posted on X: “Just spoke to the CHEF here it is OASIS RICHARD ASHCROFT CAST you are welcome see you nxt year”.