‘I don’t think we’ll ever be fully prepared for what the next few weeks are going to be like’
Definitely Maybe is set to be the place to be for Oasis fans in this city this month(Image: Definitely Maybe)
The Definitely Maybe bar in Affleck’s is preparing for an Oasis-fuelled frenzy as fans descend on the city for five sold-out shows.
With five Oasis gigs set to bring Manchester to a standstill next week, one family-run bar in the Northern Quarter is bracing itself for the full force of fan mania.
Next to Affleck’s, the Definitely Maybe Bar has become a top spot for die-hard fans of the band. Now, it’s preparing to be the unofficial home base for thousands of devotees during the upcoming Heaton Park shows.
“We’ve sat down and had meeting after meeting about what could possibly go wrong,” Paul Gallagher, who runs the bar with his brother Mark, told the Manchester Evening News. “But I don’t think we’ll ever truly be prepared for what’s about to hit Manchester. It’s like a military operation.”
BE HERE NOW! Win last-minute Oasis tickets to the Heaton Park homecoming gigs by clicking HERE… and join our Oasis WhatsApp group while you’re at it HERE.
Paul and Mark Gallagher, who have no relation to the Oasis brothers despite their shared surnames, run the Definitely Maybe bar(Image: Definitely Maybe)
Brothers Paul and Mark opened their first venue in their hometown of Bolton in February 2020, and their second location followed in December last year, in the Northern Quarter, following big demand from regulars for a city centre location. And it arrived just at the perfect time.
With a capacity of 350 customers, a packed schedule of live music, and walls plastered in memorabilia, it’s one of the only venues in Manchester solely dedicated to the legacy of Oasis. Despite the new location only being eight months old, the staff say it has been busy ever since their opening with tourists, football-goers and day-trippers.
“Most of our customers are tourists or day-trippers but we’ve had people come in from all over the world,” Paul explained. “The passion for Oasis is as big as it ever was in the ’90s. It Lives Forever.”
The Definitely Maybe venue is filled with Oasis memorabilia
He added: “We’ve not quite cracked the local Northern Quarter crowd yet, but maybe next week will change that.”
The bar will play host to a series of full-blown gig-day parties complete with live bands, sing-alongs and bucket hats. Tickets are £22 and include an arrival drink, exclusive merch discounts, a free bucket hat, and two hours of live music with your own table.
“The ticketing helps keep it all flowing,” Amber Gunther, the social media manager of the bar, explains. “You know you’ve got your table, your time slot, and your bucket hat. It’s going to be chaotic, but amazing, we are all so excited.”
The bar also regularly hosts live music, with bands and acts often getting requests to belt out Oasis classics
Oasis is set to play 19 shows across the UK over the next couple of months, followed by shows set in America, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and South America. The brother duo will perform in Manchester’s Heaton Park on July 11, 12, 16, 19 and 20, with a total of 340,000 fans estimated to arrive for the long-awaited reunion.
Luckily, for fans who couldn’t get their hands on Oasis tickets, the bar is offering the next best thing: a communal, music-fuelled space to watch it all unfold. On Manchester’s gig days, the bar will open from 9am until 3am, with wall-to-wall entertainment of everything Oasis.
“We want people who didn’t get tickets to still feel part of it because there are so many out there,” says Zak Gallagher, Paul’s nephew and bar manager. “You can live it vicariously here.
Definitely Maybe owners Mark and Paul Gallagher (centre)(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
“We will have a fridge full of Red Stripe and we’re doubling our bar staff. But even with all that, I don’t think we’ll ever be fully prepared for what the next few weeks are going to be like.”
Co-owner Paul will be heading to Cardiff this weekend for the first gig, not just to enjoy it, but to help keep the Manchester party going remotely.
“We want our customers to have the proper concert experience, so I’ll be taking videos and sending them to Mark, so we can beam them back to the bar and pop it through the sound system,” said Paul Gallagher.
A map inside the bar allows visitors to put a pin where they have visited from
In addition to hosting regular live music, the basement bar also features a dedicated exhibition packed with Oasis memorabilia, including one of Noel’s old guitars, and a pair of Liam’s maracas.
They’ve even unveiled a mosaic of the Gallagher brothers on the side of the building this week as a permanent landmark for fans.
With fans ready to sing, staff ready to pour, and a city ready to celebrate one of its biggest musical exports, the Definitely Maybe bar is braced for a busy week.
Definitely Maybe is on 52 Church Street, Manchester, M4 1PW.