Flaunt Weeekly
Richard Ashcroft has been announced as one of the opening acts for the much-hyped and long-awaited Oasis Live ‘25 stadium tour across UK and Ireland next year.
Ashcroft is very much synonymous with the Britpop era, and has long been associated with Oasis. One of Oasis’s first national tours was as support to The Verve back in 1993, often playing to just a few hundred people several months before their debut single ‘Supersonic’ was released. They were due to be reunited the following year in Amsterdam but a drunken incident on a ferry resulted in most of the band being sent back to the UK, except for Noel Gallagher who went on to play a solo set instead.
They were back together again in 1995, with The Verve supporting Oasis at The Bataclan in Paris before featuring as special guests at the giant tent show at Scotland’s Irving Beach. Their friendship extended to recordings too, with Noel dedicating ‘Cast No Shadow’ from ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?’ to Richard, before Richard later provided backing vocals on ‘All Around The World’ from 1997’s ‘Be Here Now’.
Of the reunion, Ashcroft says: “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.”
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As the frontman of ‘90s rock bandThe VerveAshcroft has carved a reputation as one of his generation’s most iconic performers. The group’s breakthrough album ‘Uabout Hymns’, which spawned hit singles ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’, ‘Lucky Man’, and ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’, became one of the defining releases of the ‘90s and remains one of the best-selling albums in UK history. Ashcroft’s solo highlights include ‘A Song For The Lovers’, ‘Break The Night With Colour’, ‘C’Mon People (We’re Making It Now)’ and ‘Music Is Power’.
It’s been a busy day for Ashcroft, who earlier today was announced as the first headliner for next summer’s Nocturne Live concert series, which returns to the 10,000-capacity UNESCO World Heritage Site of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire between June 18th- 22nd 2025. Ashcroft will headline on Thursday June 19th 2025 with support from Lightning Seeds and The Zutons.
Details regarding the rest of the support line-up for Oasis’s UK and Ireland shows – their only European shows in 2025 – will be revealed in due course.
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Photo Credit: Dean Chalkley
