Sales of Oasis music have soared since the band announced it was reforming for a series of live gigs next summer, with vinyl and CD sales up more than 500% in the past week at HMV.
The music chain, which operates almost 130 high street stores under the HMV and Fopp brands in the UK as well as an online shop, said sales across the Manchester band’s full catalogue have increased by 526% after the reunion tour announcement compared with last week.
The retailer said the biggest sellers included a 443% rise in sales of 1994’s Definitely Maybe LP, while (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? and Knebworth increased by 684% and 209% respectively.
In addition, HMV said that pre-orders of the 30th anniversary edition of Definitely Maybe, which goes on sale on Friday, a day ahead of the release of tickets for the reunion tour, had doubled.
“Oasis are a truly iconic band who have made such a positive impact on British music,” said Phil Halliday, the managing director of HMV and Fopp. “Sales figures from the past week, both in-store and online, pay testament to their popularity across the nation. It’s great to see so many people revisiting their vinyl catalogue, from classic releases like Definitely Maybe all the way through to the Knebworth LP.”
The figures from HMV come as the excitement around the reunion tour – the first since the band broke up after a bust-up between the brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher – attracts a renewed wave of interest from older fans as well as new generation Z music lovers who are embracing the band.
The band’s songs make up almost a quarter of the UK’s 100 most-played songs on streaming services.
Spotify, the world’s biggest music streaming service, has experienced a 690% increase in the number of daily streams globally of Oasis songs since the reunion tour announcement, compared with average streaming levels.
The company said that the algorithmically generated, Spotify-curated This is Oasis playlist is the most-listened to in the UK, a feat even Taylor Swift could not match during her Eras tour, and is ranked second globally.
Nine Oasis songs are in Spotify’s top 40.
Live Forever, which was released weeks before the debut studio album Definitely Maybe, is rival service Apple Music’s fifth most-streamed song. Don’t Look Back In Anger ranks seventh, Wonderwall eighth, Supersonic ninth, Champagne Supernova 12th, and Some Might Say 25th.
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Oasis have 12 songs in the top 40, and 23 in the top 100, of the most-played in the UK.
The tour is expected to be the most popular tour in British history, worth hundreds of millions of pounds for businesses cashing in on the interest of super-fans.
Birmingham City University has speculated that the UK and Ireland tour could bring in £400m in ticket sales and add-ons alone.
There is longer-term potential for Oasis to join the ranks of mega-earning tourers, with plans to take the show international after the initial dates next year.
