“People said we were a gimmick – I think fans see the worth of it now”

19:20, 18 Jul 2025Updated 19:21, 18 Jul 2025

Definitely Maybe bar owners Paul and Mark Gallagher(Image: Definitely Maybe)

The owner of an Oasis-themed bar in Manchester city centre says his takings have gone through the roof as Oasis mania has swept the city.

The sight of queuing fans has become a regular sight in town ever since build-up began for the band’s five home-coming gigs at Heaton Park, as gig goers queue up for merch or pile onto buses and trams headed to the venue.

But the sea of stripes and bucket hats has also been amassing outside the Definitely Maybe bar on Church Street, with fans lining up to get in – after they’ve posed for a photos in front of the iconic Gallagher brothers mosaic outside.

The bar has been hosting all manner of tribute acts, tattoo pop-ups and after parties to commemorate the homecoming gigs – and owner Paul Gallagher, who runs the venture with his brother Mark, says it has given a huge boost to his business.

“It’s been pretty much a year’s takings in the space of a month,” he told the Manchester Evening News on Wednesday afternoon (July 16).

“When we first opened [last December] everyone said it was a gimmick. But it’s not. I think Oasis fans have seen the true worth of it – and it’s come from a lifetime of following and supporting them.”

And Paul added that around 80pc of punters had come from outside of the UK. “People have come from Japan, Peru, Argentina…I think the furthest came from New Zealand.

“Every nationality on the planet has been in this building, it’s been fantastic: a real melting pot of Oasis madness.”

A lifelong fan, Paul was in the crowd for the band’s opening gig in Cardiff on July 4. “I held it together for the opening songs,” he laughs, “but when it got to Slide Away I was gone, I had my face inside my t-shirt.

Paul and Mark Gallagher. The brothers also have a second Oasis venue in Bolton(Image: Definitely Maybe)

“People are just wild for it ’cause it’s their home town and their homecoming. And every year since they split up the anticipation has just got bigger and bigger.

“16 years – that’s our kids lives. I’ve dragged my daughter up on Oasis and that will be the same for every family and every generation.

“All these moments from deaths to romances – for millions of us, that was the soundtrack to our existence. I’ve been on the verge of tears here a few times, seeing that emotion in everybody else. It’s special.”

Gallagher added that he thought fans’ behaviour had been ‘impeccable’.

“I was a little bit concerned that English fans might be a bit wild and might spoil it for the foreign fans’ holidays,” he said. “I wanted Manchester to make them proud and make the band proud – and I really think we’ve done that.”