Published: 10:20, September 1, 2024
Oasis tickets sell out after technical problems frustrate fans
By Reuters
A fan uses a smart phone to access an on-line ticket sales website to purchase tickets for Oasis' "Live '25" tour taking place in 2025, at home in Marsden, northern England on Aug 31, 2024. Millions of Oasis fans queued online early Saturday to buy tickets for the British legends' eagerly-awaited reunion tour next year, but many were frustrated after booking websites appeared overwhelmed. (PHOTO / AFP)

LONDON - Tickets for next year's Oasis reunion tour sold out by Saturday evening though fans eager to see the band play live for the first time in 16 years complained of technical issues and long online waits that often ended in disappointment.

Fans trying to access the three websites selling the tickets — Ticketmaster, See Tickets and Gigsandtours — reported issues including error messages and being kicked off before they could purchase tickets.

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It was expected that more than a million tickets for the band's gigs would sell out within minutes. Instead, the band announced all the tickets in Britain had been sold 10 hours later after many fans had spent the day in online queues.

Fan Emily McShane, takes a photograph of a new street artwork depicting Oasis' Liam and Noel Gallagher, created by Manchester-based street artist Pic.One.Art. on the side of the Sifters Record store in Burnage, a suburb of Manchester, northern England on Aug 27, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

"There has got to be a fairer, simpler, more efficient way of selling tickets," said Dan Walker, the British TV presenter, on X. "In the queue, out of the queue, refresh / don’t refresh, wait in line, back of the line."

Ticketmaster earlier said its website has not crashed and the queue was moving along as fans bought tickets.

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Gigsandtours thanked people for their patience and said there had been "extremely high demand".

At the same time, some tickets were relisted on resale sites such as Viagogo for as much as 8,000 pounds ($10,500).

A guitar with a Union Flag design, used by the Oasis tribute band 'Definitely Mightbe', is seen on stage at Swarcliffe Working Mens Club in Leeds, England on Aug 30, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

Oasis announced 17 shows in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with the first due to take place in Cardiff in July 2025, followed by nights in Manchester – where the band was formed in 1991 – London, Edinburgh and Dublin.

The group, whose debut album Definitely Maybe was released 30 years ago, split in 2009 when lead guitarist and main songwriter Noel Gallagher said he could no longer work with his younger brother, Liam, the band's main singer.

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At its peak in the 1990s, Oasis exemplified the soaring appeal of Britpop, with hits like Wonderwall, Live Forever and Champagne Supernova.

Two women enter the bar to watch the Oasis tribute band 'Definitely Mightbe' play at Swarcliffe Working Mens Club in Leeds, England on Aug 30, 2024. Definitely Mightbe, the longest established Oasis tribute band, and have seen a sharp increase in offers of bookings since the announcement that Oasis would be reforming to perform a series of gigs in the UK and Ireland in 2025. (PHOTO / AFP)

But Noel and Liam were often in conflict and their strained relationship finally snapped in 2009 as they prepared to play a Paris gig.

Since their split, both brothers have continued their musical careers, but always against the backdrop of calls from fans for the band to reunite.

The gigs are expected to provide a multi-million pound boost for Britain and Ireland's hospitality sectors.