Bonehead set to take part in Oasis reunion
As excitement for the recently announced Oasis reunion builds to a seemingly endless peak, fans have been treated to further details surrounding the band’s exact line-up. Initially, the reunion tour was rumoured to only include Noel and Liam Gallagher as the core duo of Oasis. However, it has now been revealed that Paul Arthurs, better known as Bonehead, will also be taking part in the historic concerts, according to a new report.
Arthurs’ involvement in Oasis predates that of either Noel or Liam, as he co-founded the band – then going by the name The Rain – back in 1991. Of course, it did not take long before The Rain recruited Liam Gallagher, renamed themselves Oasis and brought on board Noel as a primary songwriter. However, the rhythm guitar stylings of Bonehead were essential to the success of Oasis during the early years.
Bonehead played with Oasis for their most successful and revered period, between 1991 and 1999. During that time, the guitarist left his mark on such legendary records as Definitely Maybe and (What’s The Story) Morning Glory, in addition to playing those iconic two dates at Knebworth in 1996.
The importance of Bonehead in the history of Oasis is best exemplified by the steep decline in quality produced by the band after his departure in 1999, during the production of Standing On The Shoulders of Giants. Bonehead left the band along with fellow founding member Paul ‘Guigsy’ McGuigan, with the pair replaced by Gem Archer and Andy Bell, respectively.
Given how inseparable Bonehead is from that mid-1990s golden age for Oasis, his involvement in the reunion tour is hardly surprising. After all, the guitarist has recently been performing alongside Liam Gallagher during the Definitely Maybe anniversary tour earlier this year. This seemed to confirm his position on the Oasis reunion tour, but those rumours have now seemingly been confirmed by an anonymous source, who revealed details to The Sun.
The very same source also revealed that Oasis are set to add multiple extra gigs to the 2025 tour. These extra gigs will likely be officially announced after tickets for the current run of 14 shows sell out.
Tickets for the tour, which go on general sale on August 31st with pre-sale set to take place on August 30th, are expected to disappear very quickly, as hotels in Manchester, Cardiff, and Edinburgh, in particular, are already being booked up by optimistic Oasis fans.
Who else will be involved in the Oasis reunion?
Exact details surrounding personnel and band line-ups for the Oasis reunion have yet to be formally announced. If the band are hoping to recapture the magic of their mid-1990s period, it would make sense to recruit Paul McGuigan, as well as drummer Alan White, who replaced Tony McCarroll during the production of (What’s The Story) Morning Glory. However, neither of these figures have been confirmed for the reunion.
It is worth remembering that McGuigan has repeatedly refused to get involved with Oasis projects after leaving the band in 1999. For instance, the bassist declined to be interviewed for the 2016 documentary Supersonic, while Liam, Noel, and Bonehead were all present in the film.
However, given Bonehead’s involvement, it seems unlikely the band will try to recreate the 2000s line-up of the band with Gem Archer, Andy Bell, or Zak Starkey.
The likelihood appears to be that the reunion will consist of Noel, Liam, Bonehead, and a variety of other musicians, most likely Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, which includes former Oasis members Gem Archer and Chris Sharrock.
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