Oasis reunion: Which band members will return to the line-up?
With the upcoming confirmation of an Oasis reunion finally putting an end to more than a decade of speculation, the attention turns to what this reunion will actually look like. First and foremost, there’s the question of who’ll be a part of it.
Of course, we already know that the reunion will see brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, the sole ever-presents of the band during its recording career, together again. But stories are already doing the rounds that no one else from previous iterations of the band will be on board.
These rumours run contrary to Liam’s previous position on joining up with his brother again, which he’s said repeatedly he wouldn’t do without the involvement of founding Oasis guitarist Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs. Bonehead has played live with Liam in various shows during his Definitely Maybe anniversary tour this year and said on his 2023 Radio X Christmas show that it would be “Incredible” to play Oasis songs again.
Meanwhile, when Noel shared a previously unreleased Oasis demo track back in 2020, Liam suggested to him on Twitter that unless he’s “singing on it and Bonehead’s playing guitar on it,” it’s not really an early Oasis track. Perhaps the band’s frontman should have a quick peruse through the B-sides from their first two albums to double-check that suggestion.
Aside from Bonehead, original bassist Paul ‘Guigsy’ McGuigan would have to be convinced to rejoin if the classic Oasis line-up heard on the band’s celebrated first two albums were to appear on stage again. Guigsy famously ghosted the group in 1999 after years spent struggling to come to terms with the band’s fame and relentless touring schedules. And after declining to appear in anything Oasis-related since then, including retrospectives on his time in the band, it’s unlikely he’ll be coaxed back into the fray at this point.
That leaves his replacement, Andy Bell, who played on the group’s final three studio albums, in a prime position to return on the bass. He even hinted that he was aware of a potential reunion back in April this year. But Bell is unlikely to be involved unless he’s patched things up with Noel, who claimed in a 2011 press conference that the two weren’t on speaking terms. The elder Gallagher brother blamed the bassist for not standing up to Liam’s “violent” outburst during their band’s final moments.
It’s more likely that Gem Archer, who joined Oasis around the same time as Bell to replace Bonehead, will feature in any reunion shows. Archer has been a member of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds since 2017 and previously formed part of Liam’s band Beady Eye.
And what about the drummer?
Perhaps the only place in the line-up apart from the Gallaghers that isn’t in question is the role of drummer. Former Lightning Seed Chris Sharrock played the drums on the final Oasis album, Dig Out Your Soul, before playing on two albums with Liam and two more with Noel.
Another option behind the kit could be Alan White, who played on every Oasis album between (What’s the Story) Morning Glory and Heathen Chemistry. He hasn’t worked with either Gallagher brother since he left the band in 2004, though. And his relationship with Liam likely never recovered from a punch-up that left both men needing hospital treatment in December 2022.
One Oasis percussionist who definitely won’t be returning is initial drummer Tony McCarroll. He was unceremoniously booted out of the studio by Noel for not following his instructions during a recording session for the song ‘Half the World Away’, and was fired from the band shortly after.
Sharrock seems like a shoo-in for the job, despite the good relationship the Gallaghers still have with Zak Starkey, who played drums on 2005’s Don’t Believe the Truth.
In front of him, the most likely line-up has Liam centre stage, Noel, Bonehead and Gem Archer on guitar. And the bassist remains a mystery, though likely it’ll be Russell Pritchard of the High Flying Birds. Not quite Oasis orthodoxy, but a pretty strong group of musicians all the same.
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