Oasis’ support acts for their UK and Ireland shows in 2025 will be former The Verve frontman and solo artist Richard Ashcroft and indie rock band Cast, it has been reported.
There’s been a whole load of chatter about which indie legends will get the call up for Oasis’ much-anticipated reunion tour after their 15-year absence, and now reports suggest these lucky rockers have been booked.
Cast and Richard are said to be booked for ‘all’ Oasis’ UK and Ireland dates next year, leaving the rumour of Blossoms dead in the water.
Richard is a longtime friend of both Liam and Noel, and Oasis supported The Verve – known then as simply Verve – in 1993.
The Verve were formed in Wigan in 1989 by Richard, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones and drummer Peter Sailsbury, and their biggest hits included Bitter Sweet Symphone and The Drugs Don’t Work.
Meanwhile, Cast were formed in Liverpool in 1992 by John Power and Peter Wilkinson after the former left The La’s – who were responsible for hit track There She Goes – and together their best-known songs include Alright, Finetime and Sandstorm.
It is said Cast will perform first, followed by Ashcroft, then Oasis, according to sources via The Independent.
The outlet report that an official announcement is expected to go out next week.
Noel wrote the song Cast No Shadow from their second album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? as a tribute to Richard, and it includes the lyrics: ‘Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say / Chained to all the places that he never wished to stay / Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say / As he faced the sun he cast no shadow.’
The Oasis songwriter explained in an interview with Select magazine that Richard always seemed to ‘not be very happy about what was going on around him, almost trying too hard’.
He added: ‘I always felt he was born in the wrong place, and he was always trying to say the right things, but they came out wrong.’
Richard later told The Guardian of the lyrics: ‘I can’t work out if he means I’m a witch, vampire or just incredibly emaciated and thin cos, you know, I haven’t really got enough body mass to cast a shadow?’
Noel once called Richard a ‘genius’ on Radio 1, and said ‘circumstances worked against’ The Verve.
He went on, as per RadioX: ‘I don’t write songs about many people – I’ve written songs about him [Liam], I’ve written songs about me mam, I’ve written songs about my wife, I’ve written songs about Richard Ashcroft.
‘That man is a genius and I tell you what, man, he ain’t doing it for himself, he’s doing it for me. He has got to be a better songwriter than me and in return, I’ve got to write better songs than him. That’s what it’s about.
‘People are going to build up this thing about The Verve and Oasis, but we go back SO far, from Manchester and Wigan, that they will never be able to touch the bond and the friendship that we have.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted Oasis representatives for comment.