The promoter behind Oasis’s largest shows in Scotland has said he is confident the “brothers will deliver” on the Edinburgh dates of their reunion tour.
Liam and Noel Gallagher put their bitter sibling rivalry behind them as they announced the Oasis Live 25 tour on Tuesday, including concerts at Murrayfield Stadium on Friday 8 and Saturday 9 August next year.
Promoter and club owner Donald MacLeod has been involved in putting on Oasis gigs north of the border since 1993, including their huge shows at Balloch Country Park on the banks of Loch Lomond in 1996.
He said: “It’s a cracking set of dates. For all of those young people who missed out years ago – what an opportunity. Tickets are going to be like gold dust.
“Let’s hope they see it through to the end.”
He added: “Both of them have been putting on fantastic shows since splitting up. I imagine they will be on the crest of a wave here – they will be rock and roll stars.
“They will be buoyed up by the crowd. It’s going to be brilliant. The brothers are going to deliver, without a doubt.”
He said since the band was “discovered” in Scotland when Alan McGee of Creation Records signed them after hearing them play at King Tuts Wah Wah Hut in Glasgow in 1993, the Scottish fans have been a “driving force”.
Mr MacLeod said: “Scotland has loved them and they have loved Scotland.”
Officially 80,000 fans attended the two nights at Balloch in August 1996 but Mr MacLeod believes many more made their way in, with people swimming across the loch to try and gain entry.
“It was incredible. You’ll never get the chance to do that again, anything as magical as Loch Lomond,” he said.
“I’m proud of all these shows, from the Cathouse all the way up to the last Murrayfield show in 2009 which we promoted and sold out.”
He said the news of the reunion tour being confirmed was “bittersweet” as having “promoted the band in Scotland since 1993 all the way up to 2009” he was not approached about the show but he understood why local promoters had been bypassed.
Mr McGee posted on social media in response to the reunion announcement: “Good for music. Good for them. Good for us.”
Glaswegian David Walker, a leading member of the Oasis Collectors Group, questioned during an interview with PA news agency how the band will stop the “many little infractions” bubbling up to the surface again.
He added: “It’s what, arguably, Britain might want right now, because, everyone’s fairly depressed and don’t have a lot of money.
“As long as the tickets are reasonably priced, I suppose, which they probably won’t be, because there’ll be so much demand.”
He said it is “very exciting news for the many massive Oasis fans like me” but warned fans do not want to see the band “tarnishing” their legacy by “going through the motions”.
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