Noel Gallagher is “shocked” by how good Oasis are sounding, says Bono

Bono has said that Noel Gallagher is “shocked” by how good Oasis are sounding ahead of their comeback tour.

The U2 frontman shared his love of the Britpop icons during a new interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1, and explained how he thinks both Liam and Noel had an unmistakable impact on the indie music scene.

“I love them. I just love them,” he said. “And what I really love is, the preciousness that had gotten [into] indie music, they just blew it out. There was just the swagger, and the sound of getting out of the ghetto, not glamorising it.”

“They’re both funny,” he added. “I’m still very close with Noel, and he sent a message to me saying he’s kind of shocked by how great the band is [sounding at rehearsals]. I think we’re going to have a good summer.”

The frontman shared that he “of course” would be going to see the band live as part of their upcoming shows – which will kick off in July and mark their first together in 16 years – and also recalled the way they impacted the indie music scene in the ‘90s.

“I remember what they did. Those big guitars, big Neil Young [inspired], generous sounds – they were against the law in the UK. But they were like ‘No, I’ll do what I want’,” he explained. “They had this rhythmic, beautiful quality to them… and Manchester was very influenced by dance music, so they were groovier than anybody, they were rawer than anybody.”

The interview also saw Bono recall how he and U2 guitarist The Edge first met Liam and Noel around the time of Oasis’ first album [‘Definitely Maybe’, 1994], and how they got a relatively nonchalant reaction from the brothers while in Noel’s flat.

He also told Lowe about how, although the message of the band “maybe didn’t get through to America” in the ‘90s, he thinks the upcoming dates will allow them to prove why they captured so much attention overseas.

“This is going to be like their first [successful] tour in the US,” he said. “People wouldn’t know how great they are.”

Bono spoke more about his longtime friendship with Noel Gallagher elsewhere in the interview too, and revealed how the High Flying Birds frontman went to watch his Stories Of Surrender show in 2023 – and came to the conclusion that he had “lost the plot” because of it.

The two have toured together in the past, with Oasis opening for U2 in San Francisco back in 1997, and ​​Noel joining the band on tour in 2017 as a solo artist.

In an interview around the time of the latter, Noel shared how he “had a brilliant time” with the members, and that the moment confirmed for him “that the Irish are the best people to hang out with and that the Irish are possibly the worst people to drink with”.

Then, in 2023, he discussed on his friendship with Bono again and said that he “fucking loves him” although “he gets a lot of flack”.

Oasis are set to kick off their tour in Cardiff at the start of next month, and support for the gigs will come from Richard Ashcroft and Cast.

Earlier this year, sources revealed exclusively to NME who will join Liam and Noel for the dates. Guitarists Gem Archer and Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs were said to be on board, as was drummer Joe Waronker – marking one of the “new faces” that Liam teased.

Bassist Andy Bell also confirmed he would be returning to the line-up, and was recently seen entering a London studio with his bandmates to rehearse.

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