‘Live Forever’: Oasis’s Career By the Numbers

Oasis are reuniting in 2025 for a tour that promises to make dreams come true for swathes of fans around the globe.

If you lived in the U.K. in the 1990s, a time when rave culture collided with indie and Britpop, Oasis was a force to be reckoned with. Record and ticket sales, newspaper column inches, Oasis hogged all of it.
When Noel and Liam Gallagher, the combative Manchester siblings, called time on the band in 2009, their chart record was impeccable.

All seven of Oasis’ studio albums went to No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, from their 1994 debut Definitely Maybe through to 2005’s Don’t Believe The Truth. A year after the slip, in 2010, the compilation Time Flies – 1994-2009 hit the summit, giving Oasis eight leaders.

The manner in which the group dominated the national tally is worth exploring.

Definitely Maybe became the fastest-selling debut album in British history – and has passed 5 million sales in the U.K., where it’s 17-times platinum certified, according to the Official Charts Company.

Their sophomore effort from 1995, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, is the fifth best-selling album of all time in the U.K.

And their third record, 1997’s Be Here Now, was a weapon. To this day, it’s the fastest-selling album of all time, shifting 696,000 copies in just three days of its first chart week.

It’s a similar tale on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, on which Oasis landed eight No. 1s.

“Wonderwall,” their signature song, is not one of them. The most-streamed song in Oasis’ catalog in the U.K., with 397,100,000 plays, according to the OCC, “Wonderwall” peaked at No. 2 on the weekly chart back in 1995.

That domination extended to awards ceremonies, as Oasis snagged six BRIT Awards, including the Outstanding Contribution to British Music, two Ivor Novellos, and 17 NME Awards.

The group enjoyed success around the globe, including Australia, where “Wonderwall” came in at No. 1 on triple j’s Hottest 100 songs of the past 20 years, which counted down in 2013, and was voted No. 1 on the “Hottest 100” for 1995.

“Wonderwall” spent 11 consecutive weeks in the ARIA Top 10, and is certified 12-times platinum in these parts, ARIA reports.

(What’s the Story) Morning Glory? is certified eight-times platinum in Australia, having clocked up four consecutive weeks at No. 1 and 24 consecutive weeks in the top 10.

Be Here Now is platinum certified, and one of the band’s six top 10 efforts on the ARIA Chart.

Oasis’s blockbuster success didn’t translate in the United States. Just three Oasis songs impacted the Billboard Hot 100, including a top 10 for “Wonderwall” (peaking at No. 8 in 1996).

On the Billboard 200 albums chart, 11 Oasis titles have made their mark, including three top 10s, including a No. 2 best for Be Here Now in 1997.

Oasis will make their long-overdue comeback in 2025, when the band performs a run of concerts in the U.K. and Ireland, their first dates there in 16 years.

The OASIS LIVE ’25 world tour will stretch out. “Plans are underway for OASIS LIVE ’25 to go to other continents outside of Europe later next year,” reads a statement, issued Tuesday morning.

The news has lit the fuse with Oasis’ long-suffering fans in the U.K., proof of which can be seen on the midweek albums chart.

Oasis will “no doubt see a huge surge in sales this week,” according to the charts compiler, as three records blast into the top 40: Time Flies… (1994-2009) (at No. 14), (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? (at No. 26) and Definitely Maybe (No. 31), which celebrates its 30th anniversary this week.

This article was originally published by Billboard U.S.