Cast tell us about supporting Oasis: “It’s going to be a very positive vibe”
Cast frontman John Power has spoken to NME about the Britpop veterans being asked to support Oasis on their 2025 UK and Ireland reunion tour – assured of nothing but a “very positive vibe” from all involved.
Ever since it was announced that the Gallagher brothers had buried the hatchet to play their first shows since their acrimonious split in 2009, rumours swirled around who would be supporting Oasis at the upcoming Live ’25 dates.
After being widely reported following some teasing from Liam Gallagher, it was recently confirmed that Liverpool indie heroes Cast would be joining the line-up as the final support act alongside Richard Ashcroft.
“We’re blown away by it,” Power told NME about the reaction to the news. “We had the nod and were just waiting for the official announcement. Now we can bask in it. It’s a stamp of approval from our peers, and I appreciate that massively.”
He continued: “It kind of reaffirms our legacy and authenticates the road and journey that we’ve been on as a band. And now us, Richard Ashcroft and Oasis – talk about Northern Soul! That’s some line-up.”
Power, also formerly of The La‘s, explained how his path has often meandered with that of Oasis and now Cast find themselves “about to play to play the biggest tour in the world.”
Looking back to his earliest encounter with a Gallagher, he recalled: “I’d just left The La’s and decided to go see them at this little club in Manchester, to show there were no bad feelings. That’s when I first met Liam. This young lad came up to me and asked me for a ciggy; it was a 16-year-old Liam.
“Then later, me and Cast were recording some demos. ‘Supersonic’ was really happening and Oasis were on this little club tour. I blagged my way into this little venue in Liverpool and I was talking to this NME journalist at the bar who recognised me from The La’s. Then Liam comes in, and this was a few days after the band had been on The Word, and tells me about me not giving him a ciggy!
“We’re backstage and I’m playing him and Noel the demos, and you could feel that there was something afoot. They gave us a show [supporting them] at The Venue in New Cross. That was really important for us, as the Polydor head of A&R was in the audience and he’d go on and sign us.”
Looking back on the scene in the early ’90s, Power remembered how “the zeitgeist was happening in pockets all around the country”, with a collective excitement rising “long before anyone had joined the dots and before the journalists coined the term ‘Britpop’”
“I was on my own mission, I knew Cast were going to be something before I was bumping into Oasis and Supergrass,” he admitted. “Then after ‘Supersonic’, it just exploded. A lot of bands really believed in themselves and it wasn’t just front – they had the songs. I knew we were one of those bands too.”
“It was a fantastic time, but nobody from the ‘90s is looking back to it now. These last 18 months of writing and things going our way have been amazing; so I’m just looking ahead. It’s all about the present.”
He added: “When you walk on stage, it’s about the here and now – no one’s getting nostalgic. It’s not about yesterday, these [Oasis] shows are going to be about 2025 and creating the myth of tomorrow. Hopefully 20 years from now, people will be talking about this tour like they talk about the legend of Knebworth or whatever.”
For Cast, Power revealed that “the last 18 months have been absolutely sublime” off the back of fans’ warmth for their 2024 album ‘Love Is The Call’, as well as the band supporting Liam Gallagher on his tour celebrating 20 years of Oasis ‘Definitely Maybe‘ last year.
“We released a new album which gave us the energy of a debut,” said Power. “It’s very strange to say that this far down the line. It’s been connecting with people live just as all these things have been falling into place. We did the Liam [Gallagher ‘Definitely Maybe’] tour, which was stunning, and there has been a new dynamic to the audiences; with a younger generation discovering it all like I would look back to discover The Clash or The Who.”
Comparing last year’s tour to life on the road with Oasis back in the day, Power said: “Back in the ‘90s, we were young kids. It was a very hedonistic period. It was just the bands: the journalists, the record executives, everyone was partying. It just wears you out. There’s no better feeling than feeling good about yourself and being able to perform. That energy is valuable, and to demean it by going on stage trashed doesn’t last long.
“The Liam ‘Definitely Maybe’ tour ran like a well-oiled machine. The vibe backstage was so positive. The same thing will happen with Oasis. Everyone involved in this tour wants to be there. Everyone has been through all the things you can talk about with rock’n’roll, and we all got through it.”
He added: “I’m singing and playing at the top of my game, and I know for a fact that’s where every other artist wants to be who’s involved in this. Liam, Noel, the band, know that it’s going to be a very positive vibe. There’s no room for negativity, and I already know that for everybody involved. It’s going to be a beautiful thing. All the bands are going to be rolling on seamlessly and it’s going to be electric.”
Has Power been in touch with the Gallagher brothers in the recent months of Oasis hysteria?
“I spoke to Liam before the announcement and there have been messages with Noel,” he replied. “There’s been a lot of noise going on, so I’m just looking to let the dust settle a bit. We’re all connecting, but it’s next July. I’ve just come off a tour and about to start another one while writing a new album. There’s a lot going on, but everyone is feeling the energy and excited.”
Liam teased that Cast and Ashcroft would be supporting Oasis via Twitter/X, where he also seemed to reveal that the band had also been at work on new material. Could Power see a new album happening?
“They’ve been split up for so long, who knows what will happen? Sometimes you’ve got to get back on stage together and let the musical relationship form again,” he said. “It took Cast quite a long time for us to get back in the zone again, so the fact that Oasis are going to perform together is either a beginning or it’s all it is, but it’s enough.
“This is immeasurable, it’s such a big thing for so many people. Oasis and their songs – they matter. They still have such a big impact of people and their psyche. They’re such a strong and important band. The shows are going to be electric.”
For now, Cast will be completing a run of touring before the year’s end before reuniting with Youth to work on more new material – inspired by the rush of excitement that the band are caught up in, rather than spending time looking back.
“Seeing the songs on the ‘Definitely Maybe’ tour made you realise that time is a stretched moment,” he said. “It’s the same when I sing a song like ‘Walkaway’ – there is no yesterday, it’s like I’ve written it just now. It feels present.
“My eyes are set on the horizon. After ‘Love Is The Call’, I’ll be in the studio in the new year to start on a new album. Half of our set is new material and it’s going down just as good as the old stuff and classic hits. There’s a connection going on with the audience, and it’s not just people who were there in the ‘90s – I can see pockets of 18 and 19-year-olds bouncing around.”
Feeling “grateful for this cosmic layline”, Power said that he felt that he and Cast were “on a roll at the moment”, and that next year’s Oasis reunion shows would act as a victory lap.
“Since ‘Love Is The Call’, I feel connected to something like I used to – but this time not so needy or uptight,” he concluded. “I’m older and more relaxed about it all. Being asked to be special guest on the Oasis tour is massive. We believe in it, and I’m buzzing that the universe is listening to my pulses.
“When I was on the Liam tour, I think I found my niche playing on those arena stages. Now I just need to step it up a level for eight nights at Wembley or whatever.”
‘Love Is The Call’ by Cast is out now, with the band set to play a run of UK and Ireland headline shows this winter. Visit here for tickets and more information.
Oasis Live ’25 tour kicks off next July. It was revealed this week that the band would be cancelling over 50,000 tickets that were bought via secondary ticket sites. They’ve also announced dates in Australia as well as North America and Mexico, with a slew of other international shows still to be announced.
The post Cast tell us about supporting Oasis: “It’s going to be a very positive vibe” appeared first on NME.
Andrew Trendell
NME
