Kristina Roberts
Former lead singer for The Verve, Richard Ashcroft, has revealed that he will support Oasis’s re-united UK and Ireland tour this year. The ex-frontman will support Oasis at 19 dates across the UK and Ireland including Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh, and Dublin throughout July and up to September. Ashcroft had been dogged by speculation for weeks that he would join Oasis on tour.
When the news of Oasis’s return was announced, Ashcroft said:
“You know, being a fan from the very beginning, I was buzzing for many reasons. Seriously, no exaggeration here; the songwriting talent of Noel and Liam’s pure spirit as a lead singer helped inspire some of my best work.”. And then it was the perfection of ‘Live Forever’ that made me try to write my own. Dare to be great; made the dreams we’d had real, and I will never forget those days with joy. Now it’s about creating more memories, and I am ready to bring it. See you next summer. Music is power.
As much Ashcroft’s music is associated with Britpop’s golden era, it also represents the period of making some of the most popular songs in the 1990s with Oasis and The Verve. While the former conquered human hearts through anthemic pieces full of defiance and hope, songwriting at Ashcroft’s disposal more frequently played his creations in melancholy tones. Other singles from that era are “Bitter Sweet Symphony” and “The Drugs Don’t Work.” Their 1997 album Urban Hymns went over 11 times platinum in the UK and was the eighth most successful album of the decade. The album also did well in the US when it went platinum.
Ashcroft’s career as a solo artist has been just as incredible. Among his hits, “A Song for the Lovers” and “Break the Night With Colour,” and six top five albums, was an unsuccessful 2010 experiment by Ashcroft to release an album under his pseudonym RPA and United Nations of Sound that did not do as well. The Verve reformed briefly between 2007 and 2009, when it released Forth, which topped the UK charts. Ashcroft has since dedicated much of his time to his work as a solo artist.
Ashcroft has been associated with Oasis for more than 30 years. In 1993 Oasis opened for The Verve until the release of their first single, “Supersonic.” The bands became great friends, and Oasis returned the favor by inviting The Verve to support them on tour. Ashcroft has remained close friends with Noel Gallagher, and is featured in the liner notes of Oasis’s magnum opus (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
More than twenty years on, Ashcroft can be heard faintly on the Oasis nine-minute track “All Around the World” from their 1997 album Be Here Now. In 2021, he was invited to join Liam Gallagher on his rearranged version of his track “C’mon People (We’re Making It Now)” on his acoustic album Acoustic Hymns Vol 1. Years and decades of musical camaraderie have, therefore, made Ashcroft’s participation in the upcoming tour a natural part of their shared history. It is, undoubtedly, one of the biggest tour announcements in British music history. For Ashcroft, though, it will be more than a support slot—it represents one of those great chances that can make all the creative energy coming his way because of his most celebrated work once again become inspirational.
This will be the opportunity for fans of Noel and Liam Gallagher to see two of Britpop’s most iconic forces share the stage once more. His musical career is inextricably linked with Oasis, so Ashcroft’s addition to the lineup promises both personal as well as musical thrills for the fans of both artists. This will not only be a trip down memory lane in the golden years of Britpop but also an opportunity to create some new ones.
For most, the tunes of Oasis and The Verve resonate with a specific period in British culture, and this series of concerts by the two acts together feels like a reunion in more ways than one. As Ashcroft himself says, “Music is power,” and with the 2025 tour coming up, it can be noticed that the power of these legendary musicians has not yet faded away. Their fan followers have already started to look forward to what may be among the most memorable events in the recent history of music.
