2 weeks Ago By Ken Sweeney
THE Gallagher brothers will be kept apart at all times when they are at Croke Park next year — except while on stage, The Irish Sun can reveal. Concert insiders say the warring brothers will have not only separate dressing rooms, but separate eating areas and even different hospitality areas to keep their entourages apart . An Irish-based Oasis insider told The Irish Sun: “Every effort is being made to make sure nothing kicks-off between Liam and Noel at Croke Park which could see them walk off before playing these huge concerts.
“These Irish dates are seen as especially dangerous as they come at the end of the reunion tour when tensions could be high between Noel and Liam. “Neither side’s entourages will want to be the ones who kick things off between them. The toughest job will be the tour manager trying to keep the two sides apart.
” Tickets go on sale this morning in Ireland at 8am and are expected to be snapped up in minutes with extra Croke Park dates to be added. It’s an astonishing return to the big time for the band which broke up in acrimony in 2009. In particular, Noel for years poured cold water over the prospect of a reunion, but following a series of phone calls called a truce with his younger brother who has been calling to get the band finally back together.
Money played a huge part in their decision to go again. The brothers, now aged 57 and 51, stand to make €60m between them from the shows alone, with additional boosts from merch sales, sponsorship deals and other branding. The insider told us: “ Liam would need the money more because he doesn’t get royalties as Noel wrote all of Oasis’ big hits.
But Noel could do with a cash injection too after a massive divorce settlement which is reported to have cost him €25million.” Now with so much money at stake on next year’s reunion tour , once again the priority will be avoiding a dust-up between Liam and Noel. Oasis fans have wondered why the band didn’t announce their reunion last week by staging a huge press conference like The Stone Roses and Led Zeppelin did previously.
Our source told us: “The first question Liam and Noel would have had to answer from the media would have been about all their fighting and sniping through the years. God knows what it might have brought back up! “Noel or Liam could have stormed out. The Oasis reunion would have been over before it ever started.
Releasing the news on social media avoided all that.” Similarly to avoid trouble, tour organisers plan on delaying Liam and Noel’s first rehearsals as Oasis in 15 years until early next year, a few months before the summer arena dates. The insider said: “No one wants to take any chances by putting the brothers in the same room this early.
” The decision to use Noel’s own band High Flying Birds as the backing band — with the returning Oasis legend Bonehead — will mean Liam and Noel have musicians who already know the Oasis back catalogue and don’t need much rehearsal. The source said: “It’s pretty obvious that Noel using his own band for the Oasis shows means that Noel will choose the setlist, not Liam. High Flying Birds sound like Oasis anyway but even more so now with Liam singing.
” Given their massive popularity in Ireland and demand for tickets , some were surprised when the Gallaghers opted for Croke Park for their reunion shows, rather than the iconic Slane Castle where they supported REM in 1995, and returned to headline in June 2009. The Gallagher family hails from Duleek, in Co Meath , although the brothers haven’t spoken to any of them since the 2009 gig as a result of their broken relationship with dad Tommy. However this time around, Noel and Liam were thinking about how far their middle-aged fans would go to see them.
A showbiz insider told us: “At this point most Oasis fans are in their 50s and 60s, and for them it’s all about home comforts. No way are they going up to Meath to stand in a field and then worry about trying to get home, or finding their bus back to Dublin. “Having said all that, there will be a huge under 30s crowd at these gigs.
They may have missed the 90s but know a good thing when they see it. Liam especially has been attracting a younger audience to his gigs and particularly his Definitely Maybe 30th anniversary tour.” Sources say that Croke Park will also be a bigger money spinner than Slane as it boasts corporate boxes where fans will be prepared to shell out for VIP tickets and packages.
The scramble to access pre-sale tickets has taken even industry experts by surprise. Oasis asked fans applying for the chance to access tickets early the name of the original drummer — and over one million people searched for Tony McCarroll’s name in just one day this week. A source said: “Millions of people all over the world want to see these shows.
If they can keep it together, somehow keep the show on the road, this reunion could go on for years. Meanwhile, the cost of going to a gig in Ireland has soared since Oasis last played here — even allowing for inflation. Hotels in particular are fleecing revellers compared to how prices were at Slane Castle in 2009.
Accommodation and alcohol prices have skyrocketed at way over the rate of inflation since 80,000 fans thronged to the banks of the River Boyne. Exclusive by John Hand OASIS are set to announce two extra dates at Croke Park, The Irish Sun can exclusively reveal. The band’s first two gigs at GAA HQ go on sale this morning for the concerts on August 16 and 17 which are expected to sell out within minutes.
But showbiz insiders have now revealed that Liam and Noel are very likely to be back at Croker the following weekend, August 23 and 24. Our exclusive news comes after extra dates were announced in London, Manchester and Edinburgh earlier this week. The source told us: “The demand in Ireland to see Oasis is absolutely massive.
“There will be thousands left disappointed if it stayed at just two gigs. The Gallaghers love Ireland, the demand is there so it’s very likely to happen. “And what is being examined is two extra concerts the following weekend to the two that have already been announced.
” The Irish prices have yet to be revealed, but standing tickets are £151 in all UK venues, suggesting similar tickets for Dublin will be about €180 Hotel rooms are costing well over DOUBLE, even allowing for inflation. In 2009, an average Dublin hotel room cost €76, equivalent to €97.40 in 2024.
But the average stay in the city today will set you back €210 on an average night. A pint of Guinness was €4.09 15 years ago, which is the equivalent of €5.
24 today — but the average price of a pint of the black stuff now is €5.77.
