Oasis fans primed for general sale as pre-sale tickets relisted for thousands
By PA reporters
Oasis fans across Ireland and the UK who missed out on pre-sale tickets will be attempting to secure their place at the band’s reunion concerts during Saturday’s general sale.
On Friday evening the band issued a warning after unofficial reselling websites listed tickets obtained from the early sale for thousands of pounds.
A post to the band’s X page said: “We have noticed people attempting to sell tickets on the secondary market since the start of the pre-sale.
“Please note, tickets can ONLY be resold, at face value, via @Ticketmaster and @Twickets.
“Tickets sold in breach of the terms and conditions will be cancelled by the promoters.”
Tickets are officially being sold via Ticketmaster, GigsAndTours, and See Tickets, however, the band’s reunion concert tickets have also been relisted on ticket exchange and reselling websites for thousands of pounds.
On Friday evening, Oasis tickets for Wembley Stadium were listed on Viagogo for up to £5,909 while some tickets at the London venue, listed under “Hospitality Club” were on sale for £10,578 on StubHub.
The StubHub website says all Oasis tickets “come with our FanProtect 100 per cent guarantee for secure purchasing.”
Lisa Webb, consumer law expert at Which?, said: “We’d strongly advise against buying any of the resale tickets currently popping up online at inflated prices.
“Not only is there a chance that some of these listings could be scam attempts, but even legitimate tickets could be cancelled, rendering them invalid, if they are sold outside of the official resale platforms or at above face value.”
Tickets for the band’s 15 UK shows in London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Cardiff are to go on general sale at 9am on Saturday, while the sale for their two Dublin gigs will launch at 8am.
On Friday evening, the band asked fans whether they were “ready” for the sale and said it is “essential” to be logged into the “relevant ticketing agencies ahead of the general sale.”
The band had to reassure fans earlier in the week that confirmation emails would be sent to those who had entered the pre-sale ballot after they claimed to receive an “unprecedented volume” of interest.
To enter the ballot, fans had to say who the band’s original drummer was and were offered the options of Chris Sharrock, Alan White and the correct answer, Tony McCarroll, who played with the band from their formation until 1995.
Entrants were also asked how many times they had seen the band.
Prices for a seat to watch the band at London’s Wembley Stadium begin at £74.25, with the most expensive ticket a £506.25 pre-show party, exhibition and seated package.
The cheapest seats are Cardiff’s Principality Stadium shows, which will set you back £73, and Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium at £74, according to Manchester-based promoter SJM Concerts, which runs the website Gigs And Tours.
Standing tickets at Wembley will cost fans £151.25, with the same tickets in Cardiff and Edinburgh slightly cheaper at £150 and £151 respectively.
In the band’s home city of Manchester, tickets start from £148.50, with only standing available alongside a number of hospitality and luxury packages.
Before the announcement for the UK shows, Irish promoter MCD said on its website that the price of both of the two Croke Park gigs in Dublin will start at €86.50 (£72.75) without booking fees.
Noel Gallagher and his brother Liam announced on Tuesday that they had put their acrimonious split behind them, confirming the band’s long-awaited reunion by saying: “The great wait is over.”
Fans have been urging the brothers to regroup since they disbanded 15 years ago, a split prompted by a backstage brawl at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris in 2009.
It has not been announced who will be performing with Liam and Noel as part of Oasis.
Noel, 57, quit the group on August 28th, 2009, saying he “simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer”, and the brothers have made negative comments about each other for more than a decade.
The band also released a 30th-anniversary edition of their debut album Definitely Maybe on Friday.
The new edition of the group’s 1994 debut album will feature outtakes, demos and alternate versions of songs recorded at the time, as well as a remastered version of the original LP.
The release is available as a four-LP vinyl box set, a two-CD set, coloured vinyl, cassette and digitally.
Viagogo and StubHub have been approached for comment.