Fans who have waited more than a dozen years for Oasis to land in London will finally get their wish.
Battered but determined, Oasis plays JLC Monday night.
Oasis will be delving deeply into the Dig Out Your Soul songbook when the British rock band makes its long-awaited London debut at the John Labatt Centre on Monday.
Oasis bassist Andy Bell said fans are likely to hear seven or eight "Soul" songs from the band's 2008 album in the set list.
Among the candidates are I'm Outta Time (the new single), Waiting for the Rapture, Falling Down and I Ain't Got Nothing.
"There's a fair number of the songs," Bell said in a recent interview from Britain.
Monday's date was set after the band's Noel Gallagher was attacked onstage at a Toronto outdoor concert. A Sept. 9 date at the downtown London arena was postponed. Fans who had waited more than a dozen years for Oasis to land in London have had to wait three more months as the rocker recovered and the tour was rescheduled.
In the past, spectacular blowups involving Gallagher, the band's chief songwriter, and his brother Liam, its singer, have derailed several public appearances and tours. Noel quit the band following an onstage row in 1994, Liam backed out of a U.S. tour in 1996, and Noel walked out on a European tour in 2000.
"Every time," Bell said patiently when asked if he is questioned about those Oasis-plosions.
He was still feeling the shock of the Toronto attack during The Free Press interview.
"Who is going to get it?" Bell recalled thinking about what might happen next.
That concern has ebbed, fortunately, as Oasis has returned to the road with U.S. rocker Ryan Adams.
But Bell can now expect to hear years of questions about the attack because he was a witness to a moment of rock infamy that was seen around the world on YouTube.
Gallagher told his bandmates, "I'm going on," after Oasis had halted its set and left the stage as the attacker was taken away. Bell said he and guitarist Gem Archer had been saying they both thought the concert was finished.
Oasis returned to the stage to play a few more songs at the Toronto concert before Gallagher began to look over at his bandmates. "He was starting to hurt," Bell said. The band stopped its concert and Gallagher was taken to hospital.
"I don't think Noel knew what was going on," said Bell as Gallagher was in shock for those first minutes.
Gallagher's own recollections suggest he was in shock.
"I remember being hit really hard, I didn't see him come onstage or get led off, I just got hit," Gallagher told an Australian newspaper.
After realizing no knives were involved in the attack, Gallagher shunned medical advice to go directly to hospital and continued playing after a short break.
"I had an almighty pain in my side. I was being silly. It got to the point where I went 'F--- it, I can't do this' and got taken straight to hospital."
The assailant, Daniel Sullivan, 47, was charged with assault. Gallagher refused to comment specifically on the incident with charges pending, but took his own shots.
"He's 47 and got three children, if you can believe that," Gallagher said. "He's obviously gone through a midlife crisis. I wouldn't get in and analyze it too deeply, that's for a lawyer to do.
I don't know why people do things like that."
Other comments suggest Gallagher's trademark way with a quotation is already fully recovered.
"We've got enough security guards as it is," Gallagher said. "If they had been doing their f---ing job properly instead of playing air guitar, I'd be alright."
Oasis landed on the radar of music listeners in 1994 after being signed to Britain's Creation Records. The Manchester band featured the Gallaghers. Bell and Archer arrived in 1999.
Definitely Maybe entered the British charts at No. 1 and became the fastest-selling debut in British history. Songs like Supersonic, Shakermaker and Live Forever would go on to help define the sound of the mid-1990s on both sides of the Atlantic.
Bell said Oasis thanks the many fans who have sent wishes for Gallagher's recovery.
Source: London Free Press
