Noel Gallagher confirms ‘Definitely Maybe’ 30th anniversary reissue for 2024, denies Oasis reunion tour
Noel Gallagher has shared that there will be a reissue of Oasis’ ‘Definitely Maybe’ album coming in 2024, though confirmed there will not be a reunion tour taking place any time soon.
The upcoming reissue of the band’s debut LP is set for release next year and will mark 30 years since it was first shared. It also arrives following ongoing rumours that the band will reunite for a tour celebrating the occasion.
In a new interview, former guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Noel Gallagher has elaborated on what the upcoming release will feature, and put any hopes for an upcoming reunion to rest.
According to the musician, the 30th anniversary reissue of ‘Definitely Maybe’ will include a host of previously lost songs — which were made during the recording sessions at the time. Telling Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera how the tracks were uncovered, he said: “In the Sony archives we’ve found tapes dating to those sessions.”
“We thought they were lost, but they were mislabelled,” he added. “They are wonderful versions of those songs, some acoustic versions.”
He explained that the new tracks added to the re-release will include acoustic versions of fan-favourites, ‘Live Forever’, ‘Slide Away’ and ‘Supersonic’. He also reaffirmed that fans shouldn’t hope to see any live renditions of the new songs anytime soon.
“There won’t be a tour,” he said. “We won’t come back to play them together.”
Elsewhere in the discussion, Gallagher recalled the moment when he showed ‘Live Forever’ to his bandmate, Bonehead, and realised it was going to be a hit. “We were nobody. I was in a flat in Manchester on a Tuesday afternoon. I took it to rehearsal and Bonehead said, ‘You didn’t write that.’
“I knew it’d be a classic.”
Rumours regarding a potential Oasis reunion have remained constant over recent years, with both Noel and Liam Gallagher taking an on-again-off-again approach to the idea.
Three years ago in a cover interview with NME, Liam claimed that an Oasis reunion was “gonna happen very soon”. Elsewhere, in January, Noel also explained that he would be open to the concept, and will “never say never” to a reunion.
More recently, however, the prospect of the tour becoming a reality seems to have wilted, after Liam Gallagher said his brother has “done a lot of damage to Oasis as a brand”. The comments were provoked following an interview Noel did with France Inter, where he claimed that Liam suggests that he is willing to reform, but would never reach out to make the reunion into a reality.
Since Oasis’ split in 2009, Noel Gallagher has released three LPs as part of his High Flying Birds project, and has another set for release later this year. Set to debut on June 2 via Sour Mash, ‘Council Skies’ will be the band’s fourth full-length release. So far, four tracks have been shared ahead of its release: ‘Easy Now’, ‘Dead To The World’, ‘Pretty Boy’ and ‘Council Skies’.
Noel Gallagher and co are also set to embark on a UK arena tour later this summer, featuring dates in Hull, London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds and Glasgow. The last date will be held at Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena on December 21. High Flying Birds have also been announced as headliners for Sheffield’s Rock N Roll Circus 2023.
Taking place at Don Valley Bowl on September 1, the show will mark their second time appearing at the event. They will be joined by Happy Mondays, The Cribs, The Joy Formidable and Somebody’s Child.
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Liberty Dunworth
NME