Take 2 - Oasis at Wembley

Round 2. The Second Coming. Oasis Strikes Back. Sometimes the sequel is better than the original, sometimes much worse and sometimes it's simply another movie going out with a whimper. What would this second helping of Oasis be like? Read on to find out more. 

The venue

Wembley. The home of football. Scene to so many iconic moments - Luke Shaw's goal in the European Championship final against Italy in 2021, Barcelona's Champions League final demolition job of Manchester United and of course Jermaine Beckford's hattrick en route to Preston North End's 4-0 victory over heavyweights Swindon Town in the 2015 League One Play Off Final. Wembley has played to host to huge concert runs and iconic shows, with Taylor Swift undertaking a mega run there in the summer of 2024; Coldplay similarly treading the boards for many nights and hosting the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert in 2022. There could be no better place, therefore, for Oasis to boast a huge run of shows for their Live '25 reunion. 

As a venue, Wembley certainly divides opinion. Wembley Way is a great walk when you are travelling to the stadium, or leaving when you have experienced glory, but it is a long old trek back to the tube when you are followed by 80,000 other revellers. The surrounding area is fairly dearth of good pubs, particularly ones which are not full to the brim on matchday/concert day. The sound similarly gets a bad review, with many complaining of a tinny or poor audio quality. 

With all of this in mind, we travelled up early to avoid a crush and ventured to a pub I had read about online, The Greenman, just to the west of Wembley. A 15-minute walk from the station and the stadium, this watering hole served its purpose. Stacked full of Oasis fans and with a huge beer garden, The Greenman was a pleasant surprise. It could do with some TLC and certainly wasn't a luxurious establishment, but it had a good array of beers and the garden was a nice suntrap.

Everyone was in good spirits and we enjoyed a few looseners before heading down to the stadium. 

We had seated tickets, which I had secured in the infamous presale the day before the even more infamous general sale, back in August 2024 (feels like a lifetime ago). These tickets were shockingly cheap, as they were 'Possible restricted view' tickets. Naturally, we had some worry and reservation about just how restricted this view was going to be. It is known that in America some restricted view seats will see the ticket holder sat virtually behind the stage, with only a screen to enjoy, or so far to the side of the stage that they may as well be behind it. However, this was not the case for us. We were right in line with the band and had a terrific view. We could see the screens behind the band, but the view of Oasis themselves was good enough that it did not matter. I would definitely buy these tickets again if I was desperate for a ticket for a show. 

The Greeman's high end artwork

The rest of Wembley was fairly passable, with nothing to write home about. It is naturally massive, so the toilets are huge meaning there is little to no queue and there are enough bars dotted around that, again, you don't really have to queue for too long. A pint was £8.20, which is a conflicting combination of outrageous and unsurprising. We are victims of our own making - that price is ludicrously high and yet I paid it without second thought, much like many others there. 

The support

Not to hurt anyone in Cast's feelings, but we purposefully arrived late to avoid Cast and enjoy more of the Greenman. Having seen them in Heaton Park and them not pulling up any trees, we opted to miss them. A cheaper pint in the sun was an infinitely better option, unfortunately for those Scouse rockers. However, we did have our own musical entertainment in the Greenman with a man playing Oasis songs on a clarinet. As I'm sure you can imagine, that was not annoying in the slightest. 

Ashcroft

We did, however, venture in for Richard Ashcroft, who was brilliant. Ultimately, most people are waiting for the big songs from his days in the Verve and they were great. Sonnet was fantastic and The Drugs Don't Work had everyone belting out the chorus. Lucky Man was probably the highlight. It seemed to have more power this time than in Manchester; maybe the sound was better. Bitter Sweet Symphony was as rousing as ever. An adopted anthem for the England football team after years being the soundtrack to ITV's coverage, it felt right to be singing along to it in the home of football. Ashcroft seemed to be having a great time, back to his grooving best, cutting shapes which can only be described as dad dancing. He was certainly better at Wembley than in Heaton Park. 

Oasis

The wait between Ashcroft and Oasis was not quite so unbearable as it had been in Heaton Park, but it still dragged. One of the huge advantages of our seats was that we could see the backstage walkway which the band took to go on stage. It was a look behind the curtain in the most literal sense and great to see. The slow wander up the ramp, interrupted by Liam using a portaloo quickly pre-show, was like an initial lap of honour for the band. Only a few thousand of us could see this voyage with our own eyes and we all went mad. Waves from Liam, Noel and the others were gratefully received. 

From therein, the show was truly wonderful. Sitting is always going to be a different experience to raucous standing, but the atmosphere in the gods was brilliant. People were buzzing, happy, drunk and excited. We all knew every word and belted out every song like it was nothing. People hit the Poznan hard during Cigarettes and Alcohol, which I had not expected to be the case up in the rafters. The best song on this occasion was most likely Stand By Me - the crowd were a choir, Wembley the cathedral and the band the leaders of the sermon. 

The full view from 'Restricted View' seats

Being seated up high was also great for people/crowd watching. Seeing the chaos on the floor below was both fun and sad, as I was somewhat grateful to be watching scenes that could only be compared to riot from the safety of my seat, but I was also incredibly jealous to not join the flying limbs. 

The encore just demonstrates how incredible this band truly is. The Masterplan, Don’t Look Back in Anger, Wonderwall and Champagne Supernova. A ludicrous run of four songs which simply cannot be topped. It has everything – a heartfelt, reflective ballad; an iconic anthem which every person knows the words to; one of the truly great singalongs and karaoke choices; and a complex epic to close out proceedings.

As the fireworks rained and we departed Wembley for a long journey home, I made a pledge – I would return to Wembley in September to see Oasis once again. Naturally, this was the drink talking, but I will scour the internet to find a way to be there. I will beg, steal and borrow to return to Wembley for the Mancunian legends. Stayed tune, as hopefully there will be a third Oasis review in just over a month…