“Where’s the new Oasis?” | Now is the time for the Gallagher’s to spotlight the next generation of bands
“I find it a bit sad that there’s a whole generation of kids, working-class kids, who have got nothing of their own to buy into,” Noel Gallagher said on Jonathan Ross in 2021 regarding the perpetual Oasis reunion rumours, “And they’re projecting all that on to a couple of 50-year-old fellas.” That sense of ‘sadness’ certainly seems to have dissipated now that a reunion has been announced, and the notion of pints in the sun as ‘Champagne Supernova’ rings out floods the nation with a frisson of premature FOMO.
However, the question remains: “Where’s the new Oasis? Where’s that? Where are those guys?” It goes without saying that there are plenty of great bands doing the rounds. But it is also self-evident that none could presently create anywhere near the same hubbub as Oasis just have 30 years down the line. So, I ask Noel’s question once again, “Where’s the new Oasis?“ Well, now is the time for the Gallagher brothers to shine a spotlight on them.
The Oasis concerts that lie ahead are set to be record-breaking. Millions will attend, and millions more will be desperate to do so. At this stage, there is so much euphoria in the air that the brothers could emerge without a band, sing ‘Old MacDonald’, bow out, and they’d still go down a storm in the ‘comeback for the ages’. That provides a fantastic platform of goodwill that every huge band in the making has needed to this day. A bit of buzz is all it takes to transform a great local guitar band into national heroes—few acts symbolise that quite like Oasis.
So, with these huge concerts, there is almost a duty of care to protect the grassroots of the industry—the same one that helped to bring Oasis to this lofty pedestal in the first place. It’s impossible to piss on the bonfire of the reunion at present; the flames are too hot and roaring, fuelled by the sense that after years of austerity and strife, the people’s band are back to put on the people’s party. However, there will be inevitable murmurings about ‘nostalgia’ versus ‘originality’, ticket price debates, and the health of modern music yet to come in the wake of this initial buzz.
It seems that all of these concerns could be put to bed in an instant with a carefully curated corral of causes and supporting cast associated with the show. Roll out Cardiff’s own noise-core trio Spithood for the opening shows, and challenge the happy Oasis fans gathered around with open ears with something new. Give Confidence Man the nod to get the party started in their new adopted home of London. Make the whole thing equitable and diverse. Pop a cut of the tickets over to independent venues. Make this as wholesome a celebration of happening culture – which is really what Britpop was about before the post-modern revivalism took hold of the angle – and create genuine progressive change with the concerts.
Because, if anything, the buzz around this comeback ironically proves that the next Oasis is out there. There is clearly a lot of enthusiasm for alternative music abounding. With this favourable wind under their wings, the Gallagher brothers could handpick a selection of new exciting acts in each city on their whistle-stop tour and see lesser-known names soar to new heights.
As Benefits told Far Out regarding the reunion, “Over the last decade or so, there’s been lots of debate about where the next festival headliners are going to come from”. Perhaps, if dealt with in the right way, Oasis won’t override that discussion but rather help to uncover the next young band set to broach the stilted sanctity of Glastonbury’s biggest stage.
With that in mind, there has been a great deal of chatter about dream support bands, but I think what we’d like to see most is a string of names we may never even have heard of. And maybe the odd Young Fathers or Jungle can bridge the gap. Ultimately, curating a breadth of talent who get to share a glimmer of the brightest spotlight UK music has seen for decades should be a primary prerogative of the concerts.
In the grand chronicles of British alternative music, Oasis’ return isn’t just a headline, a payday or a party; it’s an opportunity, a call to arms. As the Gallagher brothers step back into the spotlight, they could choose to merely revel in past glories, bringing everyone’s secret revivalist fears of a tepidly reheated ’90s without any of the edge of enthusiasm to reality—or they could use this moment to elevate the next generation, to answer Noel’s very own rhetorical.
As was proven through the way in which Oasis grabbed the baton from the likes of Quadrophenia, The Beatles, The Stone Roses and more, channelling influences of old into something revivified and vital, there is nothing that typifies rock ‘n’ roll more than stirring up the youth of today with a progressive approach. So, as drunken singsongs of ‘Champagne Supernova’ ring out, the real unwritten legacy of Oasis definitely maybe go beyond defining the ’90s, eclipsing their former lingering end, by returning to find the band that’ll define the 2020s, whether in the massive crowds they’re set to capture, or alongside them on stage.
