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Blur and Oasis, Oasis and Blur: Two Britpop titans that famously got along swimmingly — except for all the mudslinging and name calling and chart battles. As far as fussing about goes, their intra-band feud is perhaps second only to Oasis’ own inter-band feud. So, how does Blur frontman Damon Albarn feel about all of the hoopla surrounding Oasis’ long-awaited return and their recently launched “Live ’25” tour? Apparently, he saw it all coming.
“The Oasis reunion? Two years ago I was prophetic when I said that they would do it and that the road was level,” Albarn told Italian newspaper Il Messaggero. “Well, you can’t think that two brothers can’t reconcile, sooner or later. It’s a good thing, the way I see it.”
Well, that’s nice. Maybe he’s planning on catching one of the upcoming European (get tickets) or North American dates (get tickets) in that case?
“No: I’m literally too busy,” he clarified with a laugh in the same interview.
The relationship between Albarn and the Gallagher brothers has seemingly mellowed in the years since their public bouts. Noel Gallagher and Albarn have even collaborated both on stage and on the Gorillaz tune “We Got the Power,” and in 2018 Albarn said that Noel was “one of the only people who went through what I did in the ’90s.”
Liam Gallagher, for his part, has swayed back and forth between extending an olive branch and taking the piss. After years of various not-so-nice nicknames, Liam called his former rival a “great songwriter” in 2022. More recently, though, he poked fun at Albarn’s reaction to the lackluster response to Blur’s Coachella 2024 performance and called “Song 2,” one of Blur’s most enduring hits, “absolute TURDOS.”
Blur made their own comeback in 2023, when they re-emerged with a slew of tour dates and a new album, The Ballad of Darren. Albarn has since hinted that the run was likely the band’s last hurrah. Revisit our cover story on Blur’s comeback and The Ballad of Darren.
Albarn recently revived his Africa Express project. In May, the collective announced their first album since 2019, Africa Express Presents… Bahidora.
Oasis launched their comeback run on July 4th at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, UK. Check out videos, the full setlist, and other details of their first gig back here. Plus, see their full tour itinerary here, including European and North American dates.
The band also just unveiled plans for a deluxe reissue of their seminal record (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (pre-order here).
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