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AL WRIGHT And after all
After a 16-year hiatus, the Gallagher brothers have now buried the hatchet, reuniting for the Oasis Live ‘25 tour. Universal Pixels details its role in the Britpop band’s sold-out return to the stage O f all the British exports, Oasis is perhaps the most influential when it comes to modern rock. Hailing from Manchester, the group – led by brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher – is best known for its working-class spirit, global appeal and gritty, now-nostalgic aesthetic. After a public split in 2009, Oasis seemed ready to wrap up; yet in 2024, they announced a reunion tour. Millions around the world scrambled over a comparatively small number of tickets. Oasis Live ‘25 – the band’s tenth announcement, Universal Pixels was brought on board to lead the visual elements of the stage design. Created by Paul Normandale, “the brief was to make this ‘biblical,’” says Mark Strange, projects lead at Universal Pixels. “From the outset, we knew this was going to consist of a large amount of LED. With the upstage element being so vast, we started to look at new products. We knew the scale and the level of publicity around this – we needed to be at the top of our game,” he shares. Between the various international venues and the tour’s sheer scale in terms of tickets sold, the Universal Pixels team had quite a bit of work ahead. tour – unsurprisingly sold out. Around the time of the tour’s
NICK PAYNE
They ultimately designed a solution that combines an upstage Absen VN4 LED screen with a mid-stage Leyard CLM6 transparent screen; the latter “takes up different positions throughout the show,” explains Strange. The tour’s camera package includes seven Panasonic camera systems, a Towercam system and two autopod systems ‘to create more dynamic shots’, plus ‘tracks and dollies at the front’. For playback and processing, after ‘a lot of testing’, according to Strange, they “opted to use Disguise GX 3s, due to their familiarity with the company. We used Brompton SX40s with Tessera XD data distribution units,” he concludes. What might appear a simple set-up to audiences is actually fairly complex, “from the number of pixels through to the amount of power required,” states Strange. Certain venues, such as Heaton Park in Manchester, demand over 1000 sq m of LED screens. The tour, which kicked off in Cardiff, continues through
the UK and Europe to North and South America, Australia and Asia, finally wrapping up in São Paulo, Brazil. “There’s certainly a lot of pressure and expectations,” Strange admits. “We’re under the microscope from media and fans. Initial reactions are that the brief has been met – the show is certainly biblical,” as described by critics from Manchester Evening News and Rolling Stone UK . Thanks in large part to Universal Pixels, Strange contends, “there is no doubt that these shows will be talked about for years to come.”
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