More than 50,000 Oasis fans are set to have tickets for the band’s long-awaited reunion tour cancelled – after promoters said they had been re-sold in breach of their terms and conditions.
Live Nation and SJM say they will begin voiding the tickets – an estimated four per cent of all sold in the furious flurry for briefs in the summer – in the coming weeks.
They say the tickets were listed on unauthorised secondary re-sell platforms – some of them for thousands of pounds – in breach of the terms of buying the tickets, which strictly forbid any resale.
But some fans forced to turn to other sellers after being shut out of Ticketmaster’s systems have hit out amid fears they will not be refunded – while blasting the ticket site for adding its own inflated pricing to the last remaining spots.
The tickets went on sale on Ticketmaster and See Tickets at the end of August – and infuriated fans who tried to navigate websites that caved under pressure from the millions who were predicted to have logged on.
Genuine mad fer it fans were shut out by systems that accused them of being a robot trying to buy automated tickets – while scalpers successfully snapped up scores of briefs and listed them at inflated prices within hours.
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Fans have reacted furiously to suggestions that 50,000 Oasis tickets will be cancelled after they were listed for resale on unauthorised secondary selling websites
The promoters of Oasis’s reunion concerts have announced they will begin cancelling tickets which have ‘broken the terms and conditions’ in the coming weeks
Oasis shows as seen on Ticketmaster’s website. Fans have hit out at the firm after it said it would begin cancelling re-sold tickets
One fan said on X, formerly Twitter: ‘So 50,000 tickets cancelled but Ticketmaster keep their money, then sell the 50,000 again and make double the profit. Definition of a ticket cartel.’
Another asked: ‘Ticketmaster the biggest tout of all. How about refund the dynamic pricing?’
A third chipped in: ‘So does this mean Oasis get 50k seats of extra ticket sales revenue as they have effectively sold them twice?’
While a fourth asked: ‘Great so the fans who brought it for more money than they should’ve are gonna lose the ticket and money? What a joke.’
A fifth, in reference to the dynamic pricing row that saw tickets rise on the official selling site from £150 to £350, opined: ‘Does that include the ones ticketmaster are touting for £390?’
Tickets purchased via Ticketmaster were permitted to be re-sold through authorised re-seller Twickets but not others such as Viagogo and Stubhub.
However, this did not stop some who snapped up the prized ballots from listing their tickets almost immediately on the resale sites – which were the subject of now-dropped Labour plans to cap resell prices.
The Oasis Live ’25 promoters said the ‘examination of ticket sales is ongoing’ and the results will be ‘passed to relevant law enforcement’.
They said cancelled tickets will be made available again on Ticketmaster, and warned fans not to purchase tickets from ‘unauthorised websites’ as they may be ‘fraudulent’.
Those who have purchased tickets from unauthorised resellers are urged to contact the relevant firm to have their case investigated.
Most resell firms have some form of guarantee protecting buyers if they cannot get the tickets they paid for. MailOnline has contacted some of the biggest platforms for comment.
Adam Webb, campaign manager at anti-tout group the FanFair Alliance, says fans shouldn’t be worried – as it’s ultimately touts who will suffer.
He told MailOnline: ‘It’s great to see Oasis take these measures to enforce their T&Cs.
‘To be clear, they are not cancelling tickets bought by fans – they are cancelling tickets unlawfully acquired by touts.
‘That’s a very different thing. Some of these tickets might not even have been resold.
‘And obviously fans will be the beneficiaries of this action when any cancelled tickets go back on sale at face value.’
They said cancelled tickets will be made available again on Ticketmaster, and warned fans not to purchase tickets from ‘unauthorised websites’ as they may be ‘fraudulent'(pictured in 1998)
It comes after the band announced they would return in 2025 (pictured in 2009)
A spokesperson for the promoters said: ‘Following on from commitments made by the band in the run-up to the Oasis Live ’25 on sale, the tour’s promoters have advised that ticket agents Ticketmaster and See Tickets will start the process of cancelling tickets that are believed to have broken the terms and conditions put in place for the tour in the coming weeks.
‘These terms and conditions were successfully put in place to take action against secondary ticketing companies reselling tickets for huge profit, as a result only 4% of tickets have ended up on resale sites.
‘By comparison, some major tours can see up to 20% of tickets appearing via the major unauthorised secondary platforms.
The examination of ticket sales is ongoing and the results will be passed to relevant law enforcement once complete where appropriate.
‘Cancelled tickets will be made available again at face value in due course from the official agency Ticketmaster. More details on this will be shared soon.
‘All parties involved with the tour continue to urge fans not to purchase tickets from unauthorised websites as some of these may be fraudulent and others subject to cancellation.
‘If fans do want to sell Oasis tickets they can do so at face value through Ticketmaster or the band’s official resale partner Twickets.
‘For fans who believe they have had tickets cancelled in error, refer to the email sent by the relevant agent when informed.’
Live Nation and SJM told the BBC that a whopping four percent of tickets ended up on resale sites, which equals close to 50,000.
During the initial ticket sale, fans were urged to only buy and sell tickets on official resellers Ticketmaster and Twickets, with a warning resale tickets bought elsewhere may be cancelled.
Tickets were spotted on reselling platform Viagogo for thousands of pounds, with standing passes ranging from £596 to £1,162 each for the Wembley dates and one VIP pass at £2,614 after sales were released earlier this year.
When tickets went on sale for the UK and Ireland shows via official channels, some standard tickets more than doubled from £148 to £355 and the situation was blamed on ‘unprecedented demand’.
There was outrage from fans and the controversy prompted the Government and the UK’s competition watchdog to pledge they would look at the use of dynamic pricing.
Ticketmaster has previously said it does not set concert prices and its website states this is down to the ‘event organiser’ who ‘has priced these tickets according to their market value‘.
It comes after the band announced that Liverpool-formed Britpop group Cast would be the second opening act for Oasis at all 19 dates on the UK and Ireland leg of the tour.
The band will also embark on a tour of the US, Canada and Australia (Liam Gallagher pictured)
Cast frontman John Power, who began his career in The La’s, said of the tour: ‘I’m blown away at the reunion.
‘Oasis are the voice of a generation and the songs that they wrote and sung were and still are the soundtrack to many people’s dreams. They are the people’s band.
‘I’ve known Noel and Liam (Gallagher) all through the years, we go way back. It’s been some ride, some journey.
‘I’ve felt and known their music personally, as a fan. It inspired me as a songwriter, it blew the whole scene open like nothing before and it reached way beyond the stratosphere. Everything changed.
‘We were all part of that and we will all be part of this. I’m especially looking forward to revisiting my family’s Irish roots when the tour hits Dublin. Let the opening chords shimmer and shine next July.’
Former Verve singer Richard Ashcroft has already been announced as a supporting act for the tour.
It is a full circle moment for the Gallagher brothers, who supported The Verve in 1993 as one of their first national tours.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, on Monday, Oasis wrote: ‘Just Announced, @richardashcroft will be joining as a special guest for all UK and Ireland Oasis Live ’25 shows.’
Liam Gallagher has teased the news on X in recent weeks. On September 13, a fan asked: ‘Ashcroft supporting the UK shows?’ He replied: ‘That would be BIBLICAL.’
Ashcroft is a longtime friend of Liam and Noel, who supported The Verve in 1993. Noel also wrote the track ‘Cast No Shadow’ as a tribute to Ashcroft.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, on Monday, Oasis wrote: ‘Just Announced, @richardashcroft will be joining as a special guest for all UK and Ireland Oasis Live ’25 shows’
Former The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft performs at Kew The Music 2024 on July 14
The band Cast were formed in Liverpool in 1992 and supported Oasis at Knebworth in 1996
Richard Ashcroft said: ‘As a fan from day one I was buzzing for many reasons when the news of Oasis’s return was announced.
‘I can say with no exaggeration that the songwriting talent of Noel and Liam’s pure spirit as a lead singer helped to inspire me to create some of my best work. It was the perfection of ‘Live Forever’ that forced me to try and write my own.
‘They dared to be great, made the dreams we had real and I will always remember those days with joy. Now it’s time to create more memories and I’m ready to bring it. See you next summer. Music is power.’
One of Oasis’s first national tours was as support to The Verve back in 1993, often playing to just a few hundred people several months before their debut single Supersonic was released.
They were due to be reunited the following year in Amsterdam but a drunken incident on a ferry resulted in most of the band being sent back to the UK, except for Noel Gallagher who went on to play a solo set instead.
But they were back together again in 1995, with The Verve supporting Oasis at The Bataclan in Paris before featuring as special guests at the giant tent show at Scotland’s Irving Beach.
The Verve broke up for a third time in 2009 and have not reformed since – although Ashcroft has enjoyed a successful solo career with six top ten albums.
