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After a summer of unforgettable live shows across the UK and Ireland, Richard Ashcroft has been reflecting on what made the experience so special both as a performer and as a longtime friend and fan of Oasis.
“The energy of this summer, I’ll probably never experience anything like it again,” he tells The Independent. “On stage, it was great. The reaction from the crowd was just incredible. For someone like me, as a songwriter or a performer, your camel hump gets drained and you don’t know where you’re gonna find any sustenance. And then something happens like this and you think, actually, I’ve got new energy. Even just the art of writing a tune, refocusing on that, it’s inspiring.”
Ashcroft wasn’t just on stage this summer he also found time to head into the crowd and experience the gigs from a different perspective.
“Right in the thick of it,” he says, watching Oasis reminded him of the band’s raw brilliance. “It really brought home to me, wow, Noel, what a songwriter, undeniable. Liam, wow, what a force, what a power, what a voice, what a dude.”
As someone who has known the Gallagher brothers for years, he admits the tension between them hasn’t always been easy to witness.
“It’s a bit like if there’s stuff going on within your family.”
But behind the scenes, things seem to have taken a positive turn.
“The beautiful thing about it is, Liam’s discipline is amazing. I don’t think he’s allowing himself to be in any situations where he can go off track or whatnot. Noel seems to be in a really good space. The whole band seems to be. They’re blown away by it, I reckon, without having had too many massive conversations about it. In life, stories generally don’t [have] this incredible coda.”
For Ashcroft, this summer was more than just a string of shows—it was a moment of revival, reflection, and rare creative energy. A reminder that even after decades in music, the power of a great song—and a great crowd—can still work magic.