Oasis‘ video director has revealed that the band’s Live ’25 reunion tour had been in pre-production for 14 months, saying there were “lots of well-kept secrets”.
The Britpop giants wrapped up the huge trek in São Paulo, Brazil, last Sunday (November 23), after playing 41 shows across 142 days and five continents.
- READ MORE: Oasis live in Cardiff opening night review: a supersonic reunion for a new generation
They announced the first leg in August 2024, which included their first live shows together in 16 years across the UK and Ireland. Rehearsals then began this May, with Liam Gallagher joining his bandmates the following month.
The screens at their Manchester Heaton Park dates measured 84 metres by 12 metres – a full 20 metres bigger than those at the first shows in Cardiff. They were the largest ever screens to be used at a concert in the UK.
Now, live video director and designer Jon Shrimpton has shared some behind-the-scenes details about his time working on Live ’25 – revealing that the tour had been in the making for over a year.
“And there it was…. gone!” he wrote alongside a series of videos and images (see below). “After 14 months of pre-production, lots of well-kept secrets, and five months of some of the most incredible sights and sounds I’ve ever seen at a stadium show, here we are.”
He continued: “The last night of the … it would be fair to say; culturally and financially successful Oasis ‘Live ‘25‘ world tour, tonight, in São Paulo.”
Shrimpton went on to call the comeback tour “a genuine career high point” as he recalled “being the video director on this momentous event”.
He said: “Travelling around the world, in the eye of the storm. I’ve been genuinely honoured to work with the most incredible, talented, ego-free, happy crew that has ever been assembled, and there’s been nothing but love from everything I’ve seen written about the show…. even in the British press.
“Lots of love and respect to @paul_normandale for his beautiful show design, and to @universalpixelsvideo for providing the marvellous video toys, and putting up with my OCD nonsense, and unreasonable requests!”
Fans have noted that the 14-month period of pre-production means that Oasis’ return had been confirmed and was in the works by around May or June last year. One user on Reddit said Liam would therefore have known about the comeback when he headed out on his ‘Definitely Maybe’ 30th anniversary solo tour.
“Thinking about all those interviews where Rkids fooled me [into] think[ing] they still didn’t talk to each other… good actors,” a post reads.
Another suggested that “when Liam said Noel was playing hard to get, [the tour] was already signed off”. They also pointed to a reported podcast appearance in May 2024, where Noel reportedly “let it slip” about the shows.
Someone else theorised that “the actual timeline will be 2023 start, and contracts finalised in 2024”. In 2023, Noel asked Liam to “call me” about getting back together. “You’d have thought by now, he’d have some kind of plan,” he continued.
In another comment, a fan mentioned a Liam interview from 2024 where he claimed that he hadn’t spoken to Noel “in about 10 years”. They said the frontman “might tease us on X, but he can keep a secret”, referring to Shrimpton’s new post about the tour’s timeline.
Noel praised Liam onstage in the summer of 2024, suggesting that the pair were perhaps on good terms by then. “No one quite sounds like ‘r kid,” he said at the time. The following month, Liam dedicated a solo performance of ‘Half The World Away’ to his older brother, amid growing rumours of an Oasis return.
In a glowing five-star review of the opening night of Live’ 25 in Cardiff, NME wrote: “Playing before a pop-art-meets-psychedelia visual spectacular that never distracts but will look sick on a phone, they seem the quintessential stadium band playing the greatest hits of greatest hits.”
Liam and Noel shared a final hug of the tour onstage in São Paulo last weekend. Oasis have since confirmed that there will now be “a pause for a period of reflection” as fans anticipate their next move.
On X/Twitter, LG has been teasing the setlist for Oasis’ potential next run of dates, writing: “There’s loads more classics we need to play.” He said he wants the band to go on “a European tour”, and revealed some of the songs he’d like to revisit.
Gallagher had hinted at more shows earlier this month, writing: “I know things you don’t know.” This came in response to a fan who asked him if he was sad that the tour would be ending soon. He hinted at another run of concerts last month, too, saying: “It’s not even half time yet.”
At the group’s Wembley Stadium dates in September, he told the audience: “See you next year”, before jokingly slapping himself on the wrist. However, Gallagher later said Oasis needed to “sit down and discuss” their plans first. “Next year might be a little enthusiastic,” he shared.
During the final concert last weekend, Liam told the crowd: “We love you, thanks for all your energy. Take care of yourselves, and we’ll see you again sometime.”
Noel’s daughter Anaïs Gallagher subsequently reflected on the “greatest year of my life, spent with the greatest people, soundtracked by the greatest band”. She said: “What was once thought impossible became possible. 41 shows. 142 days. A lifetime of memories.”
Current rumours for Oasis’ next live tour include a potential return to Knebworth, a homecoming residency at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, and further concerts at London’s Wembley Stadium.
A British peer in the House of Lords seemed to accidentally reveal that Oasis would play Knebworth next summer recently, before backtracking on the comments.
