Oasis reunion tickets: Looking back at Oasis' 1997 gig at Sheffield Arena as announcement made

Liam and Noel Gallagher have made an announcement about their legendary band, with a reunion now confirmed 15 years after the band split.

Rumours escalated on Sunday evening after the pair shared the same video on social media, written in the Oasis style, teasing an announcement on Tuesday at 8am.

Today, the band announced a series of gigs in Cardiff, Manchester, Wembley, Edinburgh and Dublin next summer, with tickets going on sale on Saturday, August 31.

Fans of the Manchester rock band have pleaded with the brothers to regroup since they disbanded in 2009, prompted by a backstage brawl at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris.

But did you know Oasis played their first arena gig in Sheffield?

In fact, one of Oasis’ earliest gigs was at Sheffield Hallam University on October 28, 1993. As their fame grew, they graduated to The Leadmill on May 14, 1994, when their set-list included hits like Cigarettes & Alcohol and Supersonic, along with a cover of I Am the Walrus by their biggest musical inspiration the Beatles.

They also played at the University of Sheffield’s Octagon Centre that December before returning to Sheffield the following year to play before a much bigger crowd at Sheffield Arena on April 22, 1995 – their first arena gig, which ex-Creation Records managing director Tim Abbot later said ‘changed everything’.

That concert, where they were joined on the bill by home city favourites Pulp, was widely viewed as the moment the Manchester band achieved true rock stardom.

It was also the first time fans got to hear one of their most famous songs, Don’t Look Back in Anger. Noel Gallager told the 12,000-strong crowd that night as he prepared to play what would become perhaps their most defining anthem: “I’m gonna play a brand new one - I only wrote it on Tuesday! No one’s heard this before. I haven’t got a title for it yet either.”

The gig was notable too for being the last Oasis played with their original drummer Tony McCarroll, who left not long after to be replaced by Alan White.

As Oasis dominated the charts, winning their much-publicised battle with Blur, excitement was even higher when they returned to play two nights at Sheffield Arena in 1997.

Below, The Star has dug into its archive to find these pictures from the gigs in 1997.

The Star reported at the time how there had been a ‘stampede’ for tickets to see the indie greats, with the 24,000 allocation selling out within four hours.

Oasis entertained Sheffield for what would be the last time in 2008, playing two gigs at Sheffield Arena that October before breaking up the following year.