Glastonbury bosses are hoping to persuade bickering brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher to reform their rock band Oasis so they can headline the event next summer.
The Mail on Sunday has learned that the Gallagher brothers have been told the chiefs would like them to headline the 2025 music extravaganza, following criticism of the headliners at this year’s festival. Coldplay were headlining for the fifth time.
Planners for next year’s event at Worthy Farm, Somerset, are determined to secure new and big names for the headline slots. Music industry sources have told the Mail on Sunday that an Oasis reunion now ‘looks more feasible than it has in years.’
One said: ‘All the speculation about this reunion can get a bit tiresome. But there is a genuine feeling that Glastonbury next summer will be too tempting for Liam and Noel to turn down. They have been told about the headline slot that is open to them next summer. Now it’s all up to them.’
The Manchester band split in 2009 after a tumultuous relationship between the brothers. They still don’t speak, but there has been repeated speculation about a reunion in the years that followed, with Oasis fans in an uproar after the band’s official Instagram page posted a cryptic video in May last year, featuring an aerial shot of a large riverside estate with muted music playing in the background.
Glastonbury bosses are hoping to lure bickering brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher to reform their rock band Oasis so they can headline the event next summer. Pictured: One half of singer Liam Gallaghe
Pictured: Noel Gallagher. The Manchester band split in 2009 after a tumultuous relationship between the brothers
Liam and Noel Gallagher Oasis at Knebworth Festival, UK – August 1996
One of the earlier stumbling blocks was a bitter rift between Liam and Sara Macdonald, Noel’s ex-wife. Sara and Noel divorced last year, which also helped ease tensions between the two brothers.
Meanwhile, Liam has enjoyed huge success with his own band, but the highlight was a series of sold-out concerts playing songs from his debut album Definitely Maybe, released in 1994. His brother has gone on to form his own band, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, who have their own considerable fan base.
Glastonbury bosses may have a job to do to convince Noel. He’s a regular fan and was there this year. But he says things have changed in recent years.
He said: ‘It’s getting a bit woke now, this place, and a bit preachy and a bit virtuous. I don’t like it in music – little f***ing idiots waving flags and making political statements and bands coming on stage and saying, “Hey guys, isn’t war terrible, yeah? Let’s all boo war. F*** the Tories, man”, and stuff like that. It’s like, look – play your f***ing music and get out.’
Glastonbury bookers are also keen to secure American rap legend Eminem for a headlining performance.