Classic Britpop figure Noel Gallagher and his 11-piece High Flying Birds band will be touring next Summer in June, honouring a number of cities with their presence and headlining a series of festivals around the UK. It will be their first proper tour since 2019’s run around Australia and Thailand, and the event will see Gallagher visiting places such as Dundee, Bristol, Halifax and London.
A number of people organising the events in these areas have made known their excitement to have the famous Oasis songwriter headlining their festivals. Gallagher’s presence at Dundee Summer Sessions on June 11th had this response from DF Concerts CEO Geoff Ellis: “We are excited and extremely proud to announce Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds as the first ever headliner for Dundee Summer Sessions and we could not wish for a more iconic artist to launch the festival”. It’s a sign of changing fortunes for the city, which had recently missed out on the opportunity to host Radio 1’s Big Weekend back in 2020 due to Covid.
Some of the more unusual places Gallagher will be performing include the 9th June Newcastle show at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus event, which will mix music with circus entertainment, seeing the likes of tightrope walkers, fortune tellers and jugglers under a Big Top roof.
The tour’s announcement comes after the release of a greatest hits album earlier this year, Back the Way We Came: Vol. 1 (2011-2021), which featured some of Gallagher’s most famous solo songs. Two new tracks featured as well, “Flying on the Ground” and “We’re on Our Way Now”, the latter of which featured Doctor Who star Matt Smith in the music video.
Also, Gallagher was seen at a recent preview screening of the new The Beatles: Get Back documentary, directed by Peter Jackson (of Lord of the Rings fame). In it he expressed his love for The Beatles’ classic Let it Be album and his interest in just seeing the mundane parts of The Beatles’ recording process, saying: “I’m just excited about … the things I haven’t seen … it’s just the things, the mundane stuff … what were they wearing? … Just the way they are … because … we’ve never seen them like that before …. This is a kind of fly on the wall stuff so this is gonna be fantastic”. The singer also recently admitted to his embarrassment about claiming Oasis were “bigger” than the Beatles back in his own band’s heyday, noting a somewhat possible lack of truth in the statement. For those interested in the upcoming tour dates, they’re listed below. Details about tickets can be seen here.
04/06/2022 – Margam – Wales
09/06 – Rock ‘N’ Roll Circus – Newcastle
11/06 – Summer Sessions – Dundee
12/06 – Cannock Chase Forest – Staffordshire
15/06 – Eden Project – Cornwall
16/06 – Delamere Forest – Cheshire
18/06 – Stadiwm Eirias – Colwyn Bay
19/06 – Hampstead Heath Kenwood – London
21/06 – The Piece Hall – Halifax
22/06 – Bristol Sounds – Bristol
