Oasis bring their tour to Manchester Heaton Park shortly and details of the full line up are confirmed with new set times
The support acts playing at Heaton Park as part on the Oasis tour in Manchester are sure to delight most fans – as they have regularly played with Oasis in the past.
The first act playing at Oasis Live 25 will be Cast, the Liverpool band formed in 1992 by John Power and best known for their 1995 albums All Change. Speaking about playing on the tour, John told the Mirror he will be their as an Oasis fan as well as playing before them.
The band split up in 2001 but reformed in 2010 and last year they toured as support for Liam Gallagher as he played a Definitely Maybe Oasis tour which fans loved. And now the Manchester frontman has personally got them back for the Oasis shows.
John said: “I got a call from a number, and I have got Liam and Noel’s numbers and all that, but it was a different number, and I don’t normally answer them. And I picked it up, and it was Debbie, Liam’s manager and his wife, and Liam in the background as well. And then Liam, he’d just spoken to Noel and they just discussed it, and they just said, ‘You know, look, we just spoke to our kid. Do you want to open up on the tour?’
“I was like, ‘You know, I think I do actually!’ And it was a really cool conversation, and then we were blown away like, I mean, it was like the best news we could have hoped for.”
He adds: “It’s the biggest tour this year and it authenticates the legacy of Cast. This is a band in previous years if there was a Britpop list, top 20, we wouldn’t even be in it. But now you can’t do it. Because it’s like the biggest band of that time are saying ‘check this out’.”
As well as the call from Liam, Cast firmly have the Oasis seal-of-approval with Noel Gallagher previously describing frontman John as being “as cosmic as the day is long.”
Fans can expect John to belt out ‘Alright’ and ‘Finetime’ to fire up audiences from the off, while slow burners such as ‘Sandstorm’ and ‘Walkaway’ are perfect for early singalongs in the stadiums.
After touring with Oasis, Cast will then be on the road themselves with dates going through the year.
The second and main support act will be Richard Ashcroft, the former Verve frontman. He has been playing alongside Oasis since the Nineties when they began. When they started out Oasis would support The Verve at shows because they were the bigger band.
Speaking about the upcoming tour, Richard said: “I see it as I’ve got a very important part to play in this.
“You know, back in the day Oasis supported The Verve and then it flipped around and we supported Oasis at Earls Court, then I as a solo artist have played with Oasis.”
He went on to tell the Chris Moyles Show on Radio X: “I said to Noel, ‘You know, I think I’m the only person who could go in this slot. Especially for a huge outdoor show, because everyone wants you lot. And unless you’re coming with something, unless you’ve got something to offer, I don’t know what’s gonna happen’.”
A two-time Ivor Novello Award winner (Songwriter of the Year and Outstanding Contribution To British Music), Ashcroft has become an accomplished and influential songwriters.
His first chapter with The Verve reached a remarkable peak with ‘Urban Hymns’, and his support slot is sure to be a hit-laden set with the likes of ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’, ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’, ‘Lucky Man’ and ‘Sonnet’. These tracks made Urban Hymns one of the biggest selling albums in UK history with 11 x Platinum certifications.
As well as the Oasis Live 25 tour, Ashcroft will play select headline shows and festivals this Summer.
Oasis have now confirmed via a link on their official website that the gates at Heaton park will open at 3pm. The information is provided on gigsandtours.com which sold tickets for the shows and also states: “The music will finish at 22:30 and food vendors will remain open until 23:00.”
Both support acts will be expected to play 30-45 minutes on stage, before the main event of Oasis back on stage for the first time since 2009.
When Catfish and The Bottlemen played at Heaton Park in June their show also finished at 10.30 and they came on at 9pm, although Oasis are expected to play a longer set.
Their support act played from 7.30pm-8.25 with DJs on beforehand. Cast would therefore be on stage around 6pm, followed by Richard Ashcroft, with Oasis taking to the stage around 8pm. It’s thought the band will get a DJ playing before the bands, something Liam did on his Definitely Maybe tour last year.
It’s thought some tickets for Oasis show will become available in the coming days after the band made an announcement on social media. The tour kicks off in Cardiff on July 4 and then continues to Manchester before moving onto London’s Wembley stadium.
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