Oasis & Manchester City: What’s the Story?

They are back! The Britpop band Oasis will make their comeback in 2025. For their fans, this is the news of the year. By the way, for me too. Football trips to Manchester City are also shaped by the stories and the buzz around the celebrity fans who are repeatedly spotted in the stands at Etihad Stadium. But how much do the rowdy brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher really care about the “Cityzens”? A psychological profile isn’t easy…

That’s just like them. Before Liam and Noel Gallagher officially announced their sensational comeback for 2025, half the world already knew. BBC Sport called the reunion of the band, which had once set milestones, “the worst kept secret” on August 27, 2024.

“No Words needed”

The reactions were surprising. 

“No Words needed,” wrote Manchester United idol David Beckham on Instagram, with only a photo of Liam and Noel Gallagher above it. His former teammate Gary Neville was sure: “Manchester’s second most famous brothers are making their comeback.” Well, it’s harder to get around the Nevilles in Manchester than the Gallaghers. Gary Neville, as a tip for a football trip to Manchester United, is often found at Old Trafford as a TV pundit.

Oasis – How it Really Was

15 years after their legendary fight in August 2009 in Paris at “Rock en Seine,” Oasis are making a return. Wait a minute, how did it all actually start? How did Oasis break up? A documentary that sheds light on this is Liam Gallagher: As it Was from 2020 (ARTE).

How it was. Since then, we know how it was. Or rather, how it really was, according to Liam Gallagher. Well, maybe it was all different? Anything is possible.

What seemed impossible to me and many others back then was this display in Paris at Rock en Seine: “As a Result of an Altercation within the Band Oasis Gig is cancelled.”

Out! End! But they are still here! 

“A part of Cool Britannia”

At the end of a long series of disputes and barbs between the two, in their own way brilliant Gallagher brothers, came the end of the band, which was founded in 1991 in Burnage—those romantic about social issues like to use the term “working-class neighborhood” for these areas—and became a symbol of “Cool Britannia.”

“They were a part of what reinvented British coolness,” said 90s Liverpool idol Stan Collymore, “Britain was at the center of global sports, music, and fashion—all at the same time.” Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. 

And what haven’t we experienced with Oasis? Tony Blair as Prime Minister and new hope, EURO 1996 with the unforgettable motto Football comes home, a Britpop battle with Blur from London 1995, and Liam Gallagher being challenged to a boxing match by Port Vale fan Robbie Williams from Take That during the Brit Awards in May 2000.

Personally, I’m really sorry that it never took place. 

Two and a Half Million Ticket Requests

250,000 fans celebrated Oasis at their iconic gig in Knebworth in 1996—two and a half million people applied for tickets. Just by the way: Manchester City was playing in the third division at that time. 

Oasis rocked at Maine Road Stadium on April 27, 1996, and the live video There and Then (released in November 1997) is a must for anyone who loves their music—with timeless classics like Supersonic (Give me Gin and Tonic), Some Might Say, Wonderwall, or The Masterplan. Pick your favorite Oasis song!

The last Oasis album, released in October 2008, was titled Dig Out Your Soul. A lasting soul striptease came a few months later in Paris. Well, the lack of brotherly love wasn’t exactly a secret, thanks to MTV and other new or, in the 1990s, essential media for music fans. Liam and Noel traveled in separate tour buses. One can only guess how deep the rifts really were. Let’s listen in!

Paul, the third Gallagher brother who was never part of the band, said in As it Was: “I was there. It was a bit silly. I’ve seen worse fights. Noel stormed off in his Ferrari with his bodyguard.”

Liam Gallagher: “Noel issued a pre-prepared statement. Then it was over for the band.” Noel’s key line: “I simply can’t work another day with Liam.”

“Wonder Brawl” and “The Fire in Their Hearts is Out” were some of the most creative headlines about the Oasis split. 

“Noel is a true City fan”

In the meantime, the Gallaghers and Manchester City’s new football giant seem to be following the mantra: Don’t look back in anger. The relationship between the two brothers seems to have normalized over the past 15 years.

After their announcement that they would reunite if Manchester City won the Champions League, they’ve been bound by their word since Guardiola’s team’s 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in Istanbul on June 10, 2023. 

But how is the relationship between Oasis and Manchester City? Some might say and Wonderwall are still played regularly at the Etihad Stadium. 

“There is a natural connection between Manchester City and Oasis,” says Nigel Rothband, host of the Man City Show podcast, “and that bond exists between the fans of the club and Oasis. Especially Noel is a true fan, he always has lots of City gear at his concerts.” 

The music of Oasis has always been a part of football trips to Manchester City. It’s the soundtrack of the “Cityzens” and this city.

And an inspiration for many. Gaz Drinkwater, Manchester United reporter at the BBC: “Oasis inspired generations of fans to cut their hair like them and wear their parkas with a certain panache.”