An Oasis superfan with a back tattoo of Liam Gallagher and £12,000 worth of Oasis memorabilia said the band’s reunion is the “best thing that’s happened for a long time”.
John Smallbones, 49, from Andover in Hampshire, who also has several tattoos of Oasis, said next year “can’t come quick enough” following the Gallagher brothers’ announcement of their reunion tour in 2025.
The tradesman, who fell in love with Oasis in the early 90s and now owns a business specialising in windows, doors and conservatories called Wall of Glass after Liam Gallagher’s first solo single, said he “always thought (a reunion) will happen”.
“I said it will (happen) in 2025 and I thought it’s got to be because it’s the 30th anniversary,” Mr Smallbones told the PA news agency.
“It’s the best thing that’s happened for a long time.”
He owns more than £12,000 worth of Oasis memorabilia, including a duvet cover featuring Noel and Liam Gallagher’s faces, cabinets full of tambourines which featured heavily in the band’s 1994 album Definitely Maybe, and framed pictures and canvases of the band throughout his home.
The business owner also has several Oasis-themed tattoos, including a silhouette of Liam Gallagher’s face on his back, the words Definitely Maybe written atop maracas and a tambourine on his chest, and album names on his limbs.
Mr Smallbones will do whatever it takes to secure tickets to the reunion tour in 2025 and he will be donning a Parka jacket to pay homage to the types of clothes that have become synonymous with the band, a brown wig and hat to the concert.
“I’ll get tickets for Wembley Stadium. I wouldn’t mind doing two nights there and one in Manchester,” he said.
“I will get them. Whether I have to pay for it through eBay, I’ll get them. If I pay double, triple, whatever it is, I’ll still get them.
“We’re all in our Parkas and hats. I have glasses, wigs, hats, Parkas – you name it, I’ve got it.”
Mr Smallbones admits that of the Gallagher brothers Liam is his favourite, who he sees “at least twice a year, every year” but added seeing them perform together “is the ultimate”.
He added: “I think everyone can relate to their music… and their words and lyrics and how Liam sings them.
“Even if he’s got a tambourine or maracas, he could stand there with a triangle, it just looks good.”
Mr Smallbones plans to secure tickets for Oasis’s shows at Wembley Stadium in London and at Heaton Park in Manchester.
“I just can’t wait to go and it will be just as good as it was years ago. It can’t come quick enough to be honest next year,” he said.
