ADVERTISEMENTIt’s the reunion everybody’s talking about, and the hype for Oasis’ comeback shows no sign of slowing down following their Live ‘25 tour debut last Friday in Cardiff, Wales.
However, the long-awaited hatchet burial between warring siblings Liam and Noel Gallagher has not sparked Oasis fervour everywhere…
Aside from the Ticketmaster controversy, which led to thousands of frustrated fans unable to purchase overpriced tickets due to endless online queues, website crashes and the tyranny of dynamic pricing, it turns out that the UK is split when it comes to the Britpop flagbearers. Especially their fans.
A study by Flaming Grill has found that almost half the UK (47 per cent) admit they find Oasis fans downright irritating.
The survey also reveals that one in five Brits are sick of hearing about the Gallagher brothers and their return after 16 years apart.
So, what’s the story (morning glory)?
Well, it seems like it’s less about the music and more about the vibes.
Brits are complaining that Oasis’ fanbase “pretend to be working class”, are “outdated” and hark back to the peak of lad culture – a subculture of the 1990s and early 2000s characterised by boorish and frequently misogynistic behaviour – all intertwined with binge drinking.
The National Union of Students (NUS) defines lad culture as “pack” mentality “residing in activities such as sport, heavy alcohol consumption and ‘banter’ which is often sexist, misogynistic, racist or homophobic.”
The charity goes on to say that the phenomenon is also thought to be “a sexualized culture which involves the objectification of women and rape-supportive attitudes, and occasionally spilling over into sexual harassment and violence.”
Considering most cultural headlines at the moment are all about Oasis’ return to the stage, what’s to be done for the 25 per cent of Brits that actively dislike the band, those who worry about the ills of lad culture, and the 11 per cent who couldn’t give a flying Champagne Supernova about Oasis?
Well, Flaming Grill have taken it upon themselves to offer solace during the comeback tour by rolling out Oasis-free zones in the cities with the with the highest numbers of Oasis loathers.
Located in Newcastle and Plymouth – the two cities officially diagnosed with the highest Oasis fatigue (at 34 per cent and 39 per cent respectively) – these pubs are strictly no-Supersonic zones.
These safe havens are called ‘Meh For It’ zones – a counterpart reference to the Oasis slogan ‘Mad Fer It’ and the fanbase that call themselves Madferits – and have the following pub rules:
- Gallagher look-alikes will be escorted to the car park by “Liam detectors” (yep, that’s a thing).
- Menus on tables suggesting “better conversation topics” than Oasis.
- Customers will be barred from singing ‘Wonderwall’, ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ or any Oasis hits so that people who’d rather drink without a tone-deaf rendition can do so without audio interference or being subjected to “As you were” and “C’mon you know” outbursts.
Additionally, Oasis noise-cancelling headphones are provided – dubbed “champagne super silence.”
We see what you did there. Bravo.
Not wishing to be complete killjoys, however, Flaming Grill have also hosted “Mad Fer It” events in London and Manchester, where 48 per cent of residents claim to be Oasis super fans.
These events include Oasis playlists, bucket hats, and even free Oasis haircuts with your pint.
William Botterill, Head of Marketing at Greene King, said: “Love them or loathe them, everyone has a view on Oasis, and we wanted to get involved with our customers’ debates in our pubs this summer.”
He added: “We’re not just serving pints to a nation at musical odds this July, we’re giving locals a pub that matches their views – whether they want to embrace or escape Oasis’ tour season this summer. Whichever camp you’re in, our events will make the perfect battleground, or bonding ground, for mates across Summer.”
Regarding the remaining Flaming Grill pubs, more than 130 venues across the UK are reported to be hosting their very own ‘Mad Fer It’ or ‘Meh for it’ events this summer.
Beyond the pubs… More worries
The comeback gig last Friday in Cardiff has sparked outpourings of joy, with many calling it the “gig of the century.”
However, some have called out Oasis fans as “alcoholic fifty-somethings” and “misogynists” – comments which previously led Anaïs Gallagher, 24, Noel Gallagher’s daughter, to comment: “One thing I will not tolerate is the ageism and misogyny that surrounds getting tickets.”
That hasn’t stopped critics from doubling down, referring to fans as “fat”, “drunk” and “rowdy middle-aged men”.
And scenes like this, shot at the reunion gig, don’t help:
Last month, the City of Edinburgh Council stated that it was apprehensive about the arrival of some 210,000 Madferits for the band’s gigs on 8, 9 and 12 August – which they believe poses a risk to the Fringe Festival and its many performers.
Indeed, The Scottish Sun said it had obtained safety briefing documents through freedom of information requests, documents in which officials expressed concern and expected “medium to high intoxication” and a “substantial amount of older fans”. There was also “concern about crowds” as they were “already rowdy”, and they had fears about the “tone of the band”.
This led Liam Gallagher to lash out on social media, posting on X: “To the Edinburgh council I’ve heard what you said about OASIS fans and quite frankly your attitude fucking stinks I’d leave town that day if I was any of you lot.”
So, are the insulting descriptives actually classist remarks, considering Oasis’ working-class origins and assertive swagger, or a matter of genuine concern?
It’s true that the band has prior form… Examples of problematic behaviour and provocative statements made over the years are numerous. One incident reported in a Vice article in 2013 referred to the band opening for Liz Phair in Manchester in 1993. According to the article, Oasis apparently trashed her dressing room and when the singer-songwriter criticised their behaviour, a friend of the band told her: “Get your tits out for the lads.”
‘Banter’ for some; degrading and demeaning lad culture at its worst for others.
The band’s reputation for being problematic wasn’t helped by countless covers in the 90s in men’s magazines like Maxim and FHM – publications criticised for their sexist tone.
That and Britpop has garnered the unfortunate reputation for being synonymous with misogyny over the years.
Reticent Britpop figureheads Pulp sought to distance themselves from the movement, with Jarvis Cocker saying that the whole thing made him feel “uncomfortable”; Radiohead described Britpop as “backwards looking”; and as for Brett Anderson, the frontman of Suede who was labelled as being part of Britpop, the tag also wasn’t to his liking.
Speaking on BBC Hardtalk in 2019, Anderson said: “I disassociated myself from that very early on. As soon as I saw what I saw as becoming this kind of laddish, jingoistic cartoon happening, which became Britpop, I very quickly distanced Suede from that.”
Stop crying your heart out
Now that the 90s revival is in full swing, are concerns over the return of both Oasis and lad culture warranted?
To call Oasis a misogynist band and describe their fans as “fat drunks” also seems backwards looking. As David Walker, of the Oasis Collectors Group, reportedly said following Edinburgh Council’s remarks: “To call fans drunk, middle-aged, and fat is a nasty, sneering stereotype, it’s a jaundiced view.”
Granted, the band’s provocative statements during the peak of Britpop contributed to a climate of normalised sexism. However, times have changed and both Gallagher brothers have tempered their outbursts in the #MeToo era – when they’re not slagging each other off, of course.
“Oasis have always had a depth that betrayed their public image,” Jenny Stevens told The Guardian. “Noel’s early lyrics were about possibility, escapism and collective power, not crass, masculine anthems.”
While Britpop may be back, times have changed since they heyday of Loaded and Nuts magazine covers. Lad culture does remain a problem in the UK, and misogyny in all its forms at concerts should not and cannot be tolerated.
Let’s just hope that fans can behave themselves over the course of the summer. Should they joyfully bask in the return of the Britpop vanguards and embrace 90s nostalgia without looking back in (and with) anger, then this reunion may prove naysayers wrong and show that Oasis’ Live ‘25 tour was all part of a masterplan.
The Oasis tour continues. After 19 dates in in the UK and Ireland come stops in North and South America, Asia and Australia – ending in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 23 November. Fans in mainland Europe will either have to travel or roll with it.
