Liam Gallagher has made a return to Twitter/X, and already started to poke fun at the ticket scandal that surrounded the Oasis reunion.
The frontman is usually relatively active on the platform, and has frequently used it in the past as a way to communicate with fans. However, in the run up to the announcement that Oasis would be getting back together for their first shows in 16 years, he went silent on the app – only sharing official updates about the reformation.
Now, he has made a return to the social media site, and already begun poking fun at fans surrounding the whole fiasco to get tickets.
Tickets went on sale over the weekend and officially sold out at 7pm. However, the entire process was far from smooth, with millions flocking to try to grab tickets and many – including Louis Tomlinson – being left disappointed after several issues arose.
Even before the sale commenced at 9am, Ticketmaster crashed, and with giant queues to contend with, many were left unable to even browse ticket options in the first place. Many complained about being kicked out of the queue after hours of waiting due to being mistaken for bots, and those attempting to purchase accessible tickets were unable to get through to the phone lines – despite some fans calling the designated number over 400 times.
Some who did eventually manage to get through the queues were then disappointed to see the cost of remaining tickets had increased due to Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing policy; a process which sees prices hiked up due to high demand.
The ‘dynamic pricing’ soon led to widespread backlash. As well as countless fans, politicians like Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy also weighed in, calling for a review of the policy and secondary ticket sites. Similarly, Twickets announced a U-turn on their stance – capping their booking fee at a maximum of £25 per ticket – and Mark Davyd, CEO of the Music Venue Trust (MVT) used the scramble as a way to highlight the struggles faced by grassroots venues.
Recommended
Hundreds of fans then launched complaints to the Advertising Standards Association (ASA) over surge ticket pricing, debate arose about whether the lack of warning may have been a breach of consumer law, and fans celebrated Robert Smith for fighting Ticketmaster to keep The Cure ticket prices affordable.
OASIS are back your welcome and I hear there ATTITUDE STINKS good to know something’s never change LFUCKING x
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) September 6, 2024
Taking to X earlier today (September 5), Liam Gallagher finally shared his thoughts on the situation, and jokingly wrote: “OASIS are back your welcome and I hear there ATTITUDE STINKS good to know something’s never change LFUCKING x”.
Fans were quick to reply to the tweet, asking various questions about the reformation, price hikes, additional tour dates and more.
“Got any spare tickets?” one asked, to which the vocalist made a quip about the dynamic pricing: “Shit loads but there really expensive 100 thousand pounds Kneeling only.”
He also responded to a user who asked how his mum, Peggy, felt about him and his brother Noel getting back together for the shows. “She’s gutted she couldn’t get a ticket,” he said, making light of the huge struggle many fans had trying to secure their seat for the shows.
When asked if he could give her a free ticket, he also responded: “Free don’t be silly?”
Shit loads but there really expensive 100 thousand pounds Kneeling only
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) September 6, 2024
She’s gutted she couldn’t get a ticket
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) September 6, 2024
Free don’t be silly
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) September 6, 2024
Since returning to Twitter/X, the frontman also tackled some fans who were more critical of the whole ticket ordeal, telling one user accusing him of “ripping the fans off” to “SHUTUP”.
Before the initial announcement of the reunion was made, Liam would frequently tease the idea of the band getting back together, and shortly before his ‘Definitely Maybe’ set at Reading & Leeds told fans in advance that the announcement would be coming soon.
SHUTUP
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) September 6, 2024
Prior to that, he said that Noel was “still playing hard to get”, and also claimed that he would send his brother a box of chocolates as an apology for being “really mean” to him around the time of Oasis’ split in 2009.
Noel also discussed the possibility of an Oasis comeback in an interview with NME, adding that the reason why it hasn’t happened yet was because there had “never really been a serious offer about ‘The Big O’ getting back together”.
Reflecting on how he would frequently tell fans that the reunion was happening on X, Liam shared another update, responding to a fan who asked how he was feeling. “SMUG only kidding SMUG AS FUCK I told you all we were gonna get back together 1 fine day.”
SMUG only kidding SMUG AS FUCK I told you all we were gonna get back together 1 fine day
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) September 6, 2024
Earlier this week, Oasis shared an official statement, distancing themselves from the ‘dynamic pricing’ policy and stating that they were unaware that prices would be hiked up so drastically.
“It needs to be made clear that Oasis leave decisions on ticketing and pricing entirely to their promoters and management, and at no time had any awareness that dynamic pricing was going to be used,” they said.
“While prior meetings between promoters, Ticketmaster and the band’s management resulted in a positive ticket sale strategy, which would be a fair experience for fans, including dynamic ticketing to help keep general ticket prices down as well as reduce touting, the execution of the plan failed to meet expectations.
“All parties involved did their utmost to deliver the best possible fan experience, but due to the unprecedented demand this became impossible to achieve.”
The band also announced “a small step towards making amends for the situation” with “a special invitation-only ballot ticket sale strategy” for two new Wembley gigs on September 27 and 28.
Currently, the controversial use ‘surge pricing’, for the reunion is to be investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), and lawmakers are looking to introduce a new legislation in the Republic of Ireland that would ban dynamic pricing.