Ride have responded to rumours that they are being lined up to support Oasis during a potential reunion tour.
Recent reports from Australia’s Noise11 claimed that a “UK rock band from the 90s with a very close connection to Liam Gallagher” had been “tapped as the opening act” for Oasis reunion shows, with Ride alluded to as the band in question.
Andy Bell of the Oxford shoegazers played in Oasis from 1999 to their split in 2009. He was also a member of Liam Gallagher’s post-Oasis band Beady Eye. Ride reunited in 2014 and released a 25th anniversary edition of debut album ‘Nowhere’ last year.
Responding to the reports, a Ride spokesperson tells NME: “This is news to us!” NME has also approached press representatives of both Liam and Noel for comment on the rumours.
Getty ImagesLast month, bookies suspended betting on Oasis reforming in 2017, as talk of the Britpop band getting back together continued to gather momentum.
The Gallagher brothers shared had a tense relationship since the Britpop group’s 2009 split, with Liam recently criticising Noel publicly, calling him a potato, a toad, a “scary clown”, describing him as the “Ronnie Corbett of rock” and comparing his brother’s dress sense to that of Gary Barlow.
Supersonic director Mat Whitecross has claimed that Oasis are more likely to reunite when there’s less pressure on them to do so.
Speaking to Billboard, the director explained: “The tricky thing is, the more people put pressure on them, the less likely it is to happen.”
He continued: “But the way Noel talks about the fans at the end of the film is something he comes back to again and again. He’s very generous about their contribution, and I think he would do it for [the fans]. Noel has never said no, but he makes jokes about it. Liam says, ‘Come on, let’s get back on the road!’ He’s keen to do it.”
“The reason it hasn’t happened earlier is they’re in a position of luxury,” Whitecross argued. “They’re both rich men. They don’t have to be chasing the opportunity to try and get back together. So hopefully if they do come back, it’ll be for the right reasons, and because they both want to do it.”
Meanwhile, Liam Gallagher recently denied that he is “desperate” for a Oasis reunion, after remaining open to potentially reforming. Liam is set to release a solo album next year.