Who is the original drummer of Oasis? Band asks fans before reunion

For what is expected to be the biggest music event of 2025, Oasis have announced a wave of shows across the UK and Ireland, and scores of fans are preparing to battle for tickets when the band go live on Saturday morning.

The presale, which ends at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, was flooded with an “extremely high number of registrations,” the band said on its website after it launched a raffle for the tickets.

This wave of potential early buyers had to overcome a number of hurdles before they could sign up, including being asked about their Oasis fandom.

In their pre-sale message, Oasis addressed ticket resellers, known as “touts”, asking questions designed to deter them and possibly even casual concertgoers.

Fans were asked how many times they had seen the band, who last performed at the V Festival in 2009, but sellers confirmed that this had no impact on respondents’ chances in the vote.

However, the band also wanted to test their fans’ knowledge. In a multiple-choice question, buyers were asked to name the group’s original drummer.

A quick Google search in a separate tab can quickly enlighten unsuspecting fans (it’s Tony McCarroll, by the way). But the questions asked before allowing participation in the vote echo a debate that has raged online since Oasis announced their reunion: should only “real” fans be allowed to buy a ticket?

Generational debate continues

Since Oasis disbanded nearly 15 years ago, several imitators of the legendary Britpop era have come to the fore to satisfy fans looking for their 90s music fix. Liam and Noel have started their own projects and usually play famous Oasis songs during their sets.

Oasis’ Britpop rivals Blur have remained largely unchanged this century, playing to a sell-out crowd at Wembley Stadium last year.

Catfish and the Bottlemen, one of the bands inspired by Oasis, will probably be cursing their bad luck after booking a huge gig at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the same night that Oasis are due to play one of their shows across town at Wembley.

However, Oasis has also attracted a new wave of younger fans who have found a broader acceptance of the band’s 1990s music and culture since the band’s split in 2009.

These fans have helped spark a debate on social media about who deserves tickets to their reunion.

Older Gen X fans, who may have seen the band during their initial rise to fame when they regularly sold out arenas and played to 500,000 people at Knebworth in 1996, have a problem with the idea that they might lose out at the expense of younger fans.

Imagine having to wait 15 years for Oasis to reform and then not being able to get tickets for 21-year-old Chloe from Stockport who just wants to hear Wonderwall live. #oasismeeting

— Billy Corcoran (@BillyCorcoran) 26 August 2024

This view was widely ridiculed online, with others arguing that those who have never had the chance to see Oasis perform should be first.

Despite all the arguments, both groups agree on who their main enemy is: the ticket smugglers.

Resellers in the spotlight

There is great anticipation that Oasis tickets will be the latest event to flood the resale sites that have become a scourge of modern concert attendance.

Major artists in recent years include Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, whose tickets have been offered for thousands of dollars on resale sites such as Viagogo and StubHub.

Last year, Cris Miller, Global Managing Director of Viagogo, defended the model, which was heavily criticized inside and outside the industry.

“Buyers make their own decisions,” Miller said. “If they see a ticket up there that’s outside their price range or their comfort zone, they don’t buy it.”

Hoteliers in the cities where Oasis concerts take place have also come under criticism for allegedly cancelling previous reservations for the evenings of the concerts, only to then re-offer them at an enormous surcharge.