‘Champagne Supernova. See you next year.’
Liam Gallagher, Oasis’ frontman, performatively covered his mouth and slapped himself on the wrist as he sauntered back from his microphone stand after uttering those words, announcing both the title of the final song of their final show at Wembley on Sunday evening, the culmination of their comeback tour, and indeed announcing that they will, of course, be returning with more shows next summer. There’s a suspicious looking gap in scheduling at The Etihad stadium next July, there’s rumours of a return to Knebworth 30 years on. Just as the summer of 2025 did, the summer of 2026 could well belong to The Gallaghers.
Some of you reading this will have been to see Oasis this summer, and bored the rest of your mates by telling them it was the best gig of your life. If not, you’ve likely been the victims of those stories from Wembley, or Heaton Park, or perhaps Cardiff where Noel was close to tears, or Dublin where they dedicated the show to their Mum, or maybe even Edinburgh, where Liam told the council to fuck off. Like it or not, Oasis’ comeback defined this summer.
Some of us at Idris are old enough to remember What’s the Story Morning Glory coming out, for some like myself, Oasis were pretty crap during the noughties and I definitely wasn’t complaining that they didn’t play The Importance Of Being Idle when I saw them at Wembley in July. But all of us recognise something iconic in the stylings of the Mancunian band who heralded a Britpop era that gave us genuine pride in British music.
And so, below, I’ve listed a few modish, Britpopy styles, inspired by The Gallagher brothers who saved our summer, and may indeed inspire you to try something a little bit different next time you book in with us. Or just ignore all of this and get another skin fade if you want. Up to you.
If you’re gonna do mod, do it, but keep it tidy. In this shoot for Stone Island from the end of last year, Liam wears his hair slightly longer than he has done for this tour, and indeed keeps that length through the sides and the back of the hair that defines that Paul Weller style Mod cut, but its short, tidy, the texture through the top and the fringe still allow the hair to sit properly, and he manages to look incredibly smart for a man entering his 50s who still wants to pull of such a striking style.
7 or 8 years ago, when the Gallagher brothers were still at war, Liam went through a strange period that everyone seems to have forgotten - he had no hair, and even more strikingly, no jacket. There’s no denying he looks good here, but there’s just something about him in a t-shirt that doesn’t look right. Forearms or not, Liam does something with this buzz cut that isn’t done enough nowadays - many men who brave the buzz cut still cling to some kind of taper or fade to add a bit of shape, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but in this era Liam wore the buzz cut with more length through the sides and back of the hair, without lining up his sideburns, to give the buzz cut a bit more character and make it feel a bit less military and. bit more rock n roll.
No, we’re not recommending the uni brow from this image. But after years of crops, of skin fades, hard parts, slick backs, undercuts etc, there’s something liberating about a cut like this. Texture through the fringe, length over the ears, the same length of a mullet, this is an easy cut to style and an iconic look to sport. Did you ever think you’d be asking your barber to put the clippers down so that you can wear your hair this long, in this style? No betting man would have gambled on the Gallaghers getting back together. But they did. And another Oasis tour next year is happening. Put it this way, if you go for this cut now, it’ll be perfect by the time they come out to Fucking In The Bushes at Knebworth next year. And if you don’t like it, you’ve got plenty of time to cut it again before then.
