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Error Messages, Lengthy Online Queues Greet Fans Scrambling to Secure Oasis Reunion Tickets

FILE - Members of British rock band Oasis pose for photos ahead of a concert in Hong Kong, Feb. 25, 2006. From left are, Gem Archer, Noel Gallagher, Andy Bell, and Liam Gallagher. (AP Photo/Lo Sai Hung)
FILE - Members of British rock band Oasis pose for photos ahead of a concert in Hong Kong, Feb. 25, 2006. From left are, Gem Archer, Noel Gallagher, Andy Bell, and Liam Gallagher. (AP Photo/Lo Sai Hung)
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Error Messages, Lengthy Online Queues Greet Fans Scrambling to Secure Oasis Reunion Tickets

FILE - Members of British rock band Oasis pose for photos ahead of a concert in Hong Kong, Feb. 25, 2006. From left are, Gem Archer, Noel Gallagher, Andy Bell, and Liam Gallagher. (AP Photo/Lo Sai Hung)
FILE - Members of British rock band Oasis pose for photos ahead of a concert in Hong Kong, Feb. 25, 2006. From left are, Gem Archer, Noel Gallagher, Andy Bell, and Liam Gallagher. (AP Photo/Lo Sai Hung)

The sale of tickets for Oasis ’ reunion tour got off to a creaky start on Saturday as online platforms strained under demand from hundreds of thousands of fans, The Associated Press reported.
The Britpop-era behemoth led by brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher is scheduled to play 17 gigs — its first shows for 15 years — in Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh and Dublin starting July 4.
More than 1 million tickets are up for sale, at prices starting at about 74 pounds (just under $100).
Some people attempting to get onto the handful of authorized sales sites, including Ticketmaster and Gigs and Tours, received error messages, while many others were informed they were in a lengthy queue.
Some managed to buy tickets through a presale lottery on Friday. Within hours, tickets began to be offered on resale websites for as much as 6,000 pounds ($7,800).
Oasis issued a warning, saying tickets could only be resold at face value through authorized sites.
“Tickets appearing on other secondary ticketing sites are either counterfeit or will be cancelled by the promoters,” it said in a statement.
Oasis was one of the dominant British acts of the 1990s, producing hits including “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” Its sound was fueled by singalong rock choruses and the combustible chemistry between guitarist-songwriter Noel Gallagher and singer sibling Liam.
Oasis split in 2009, with Noel Gallagher quitting the band after a backstage dustup with his brother at a festival near Paris.
The tour will begin July 4 and 5 at the Principality Stadium. Oasis will also perform at Heaton Park in Manchester, on July 11, 12, 16, 19 and 20; London’s Wembley Stadium on July 25, 26 and 30 and Aug. 2 and 3; Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Aug. 8, 9 and 12; and Croke Park in Dublin on Aug. 16 and 17.
Prices for the London, Cardiff and Edinburgh concerts range from about 74 pounds ($97) to just over 200 pounds ($260) for seats, and about 150 pounds (about $200) to stand. In Manchester, the cheapest tickets are 148 pounds ($195) to stand, with no seated option.
The costliest option is a 506-pound ($666) package for the London gigs that includes a pre-show party, admission to an Oasis exhibition, souvenirs and a “premium collectible item.”
Tickets for the Dublin shows start at 86.50 euros ($96) plus booking fee.
The host cities anticipate an economic boost to hotels, bars, restaurants and shops – especially Manchester, the band’s hometown and a city renowned for its musical heritage.
Sacha Lord, Manchester’s official nighttime economy adviser, said “there’s a big buzz” in the city about the reunion.
“This is a homecoming gig,” he said. “When they set foot on that stage for the first time, it’s going to be a really special moment.”

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Entertainment

Music World Mourns Ghana's Ebo Taylor, Founding Father of Highlife

Ebo Taylor, who kept performing into his 80s, was instrumental in introducing Ghanaian highlife to international listeners. Nipah Dennis / AFP
Ebo Taylor, who kept performing into his 80s, was instrumental in introducing Ghanaian highlife to international listeners. Nipah Dennis / AFP
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Music World Mourns Ghana's Ebo Taylor, Founding Father of Highlife

Ebo Taylor, who kept performing into his 80s, was instrumental in introducing Ghanaian highlife to international listeners. Nipah Dennis / AFP
Ebo Taylor, who kept performing into his 80s, was instrumental in introducing Ghanaian highlife to international listeners. Nipah Dennis / AFP

Tributes have been pouring in from across Ghana and the world since the death of Ghanaian highlife legend Ebo Taylor.

A guitarist, composer and bandleader who died on Saturday, Taylor's six-decade career played a key role in shaping modern popular music in West Africa, said AFP.

Often described as one of the founding fathers of contemporary highlife, Taylor died a day after the launch of a music festival bearing his name in the capital, Accra, and just a month after celebrating his 90th birthday.

Highlife, a genre blending traditional African rhythms with jazz and Caribbean influences, was recently added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

"The world has lost a giant. A colossus of African music," a statement shared on his official page said. "Your light will never fade."

The Los Angeles-based collective Jazz Is Dead called him a pioneer of highlife and Afrobeat, while Ghanaian dancehall star Stonebwoy and American producer Adrian Younge, who his worked with Jay Z and Kendrick Lamar, also paid tribute to his legacy.

Nigerian writer and poet Dami Ajayi described him as a "highlife maestro" and a "fantastic guitarist".

- 'Uncle Ebo' -

Taylor's influence extended far beyond Ghana, with elements of his music appearing in the soul, jazz, hip-hop and Afrobeat genres that dominate the African and global charts today.

Born Deroy Taylor in Cape Coast in 1936, he began performing in the 1950s, as highlife was establishing itself as the dominant sound in Ghana in the years following independence.

Known for intricate guitar lines and rich horn arrangements, he played with leading bands including the Stargazers and the Broadway Dance Band.

In the early 1960s, he travelled to London to study music, where he worked alongside other African musicians, including Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti.

The exchange of ideas between the two would later be seen as formative to the development of Afrobeat, a political cocktail blending highlife with funk, jazz and soul.

Back in Ghana, Taylor became one of the country's most sought-after arrangers and producers, working with stars such as Pat Thomas and CK Mann while leading his own bands.

His compositions -- including "Love & Death", "Heaven", "Odofo Nyi Akyiri Biara" and "Appia Kwa Bridge" -- gained renewed international attention decades later as DJs, collectors and record labels reissued his music. His grooves were sampled by hip-hop and R&B artists and helped introduce new global audiences to Ghanaian highlife.

Taylor continued touring into his 70s and 80s, performing across Europe and the United States as part of a late-career renaissance that cemented his status as a cult figure among younger musicians.

Many fans affectionately referred to him as "Uncle Ebo", reflecting both his longevity and mentorship of younger artists.

For many, he remained a symbol of highlife's golden era and of a generation that carried Ghanaian music onto the world stage.

Entertainment

'Send Help' Repeats as N.America Box Office Champ

Canadian actor Rachel McAdams and US actor Dylan O'Brien pose upon arrival on the red carpet for the UK premiere of the film 'Send Help' in central London on January 29, 2026. (Photo by CARLOS JASSO / AFP)
Canadian actor Rachel McAdams and US actor Dylan O'Brien pose upon arrival on the red carpet for the UK premiere of the film 'Send Help' in central London on January 29, 2026. (Photo by CARLOS JASSO / AFP)
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'Send Help' Repeats as N.America Box Office Champ

Canadian actor Rachel McAdams and US actor Dylan O'Brien pose upon arrival on the red carpet for the UK premiere of the film 'Send Help' in central London on January 29, 2026. (Photo by CARLOS JASSO / AFP)
Canadian actor Rachel McAdams and US actor Dylan O'Brien pose upon arrival on the red carpet for the UK premiere of the film 'Send Help' in central London on January 29, 2026. (Photo by CARLOS JASSO / AFP)

Horror flick "Send Help" showed staying power, leading the North American box office for a second straight week with $10 million in ticket sales, industry estimates showed Sunday.

The 20th Century flick stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien as a woman and her boss trying to survive on a deserted island after their plane crashes.
It marks a return to the genre for director Sam Raimi, who first made his name in the 1980s with the "Evil Dead" films.

Debuting in second place at $7.2 million was rom-com "Solo Mio" starring comedian Kevin James as a groom left at the altar in Italy, Exhibitor Relations reported.

"This is an excellent opening for a romantic comedy made on a micro-budget of $4 million," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research, noting that critics and audiences have embraced the Angel Studios film.

Post-apocalyptic Sci-fi thriller "Iron Lung" -- a video game adaptation written, directed and financed by YouTube star Mark Fischbach, known by his pseudonym Markiplier -- finished in third place at $6.7 million, AFP reported.

"Stray Kids: The Dominate Experience," a concert film for the K-pop boy band Stray Kids filmed at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, opened in fourth place at $5.6 million.

And in fifth place at $4.5 million was Luc Besson's English-language adaptation of "Dracula," which was released in select countries outside the United States last year.

Gross called it a "weak opening for a horror remake," noting the film's total production cost of $50 million and its modest $30 million take abroad so far.

Rounding out the top 10 are:
"Zootopia 2" ($4 million)
"The Strangers: Chapter 3" ($3.5 million)
"Avatar: Fire and Ash" ($3.5 million)
"Shelter" ($2.4 million)
"Melania" ($2.38 million)

Entertainment

Rapper Lil Jon Confirms Death of His Son, Nathan Smith

Lil Jon performs at Gronk Beach music festival during Super Bowl week on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP)
Lil Jon performs at Gronk Beach music festival during Super Bowl week on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP)
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Rapper Lil Jon Confirms Death of His Son, Nathan Smith

Lil Jon performs at Gronk Beach music festival during Super Bowl week on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP)
Lil Jon performs at Gronk Beach music festival during Super Bowl week on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP)

American rapper Lil Jon said on Friday that his son, Nathan Smith, has died, the record producer confirmed in a joint statement with Smith’s mother.

"I am extremely heartbroken for the tragic loss of our son, Nathan Smith. His mother (Nicole Smith) and I are devastated,” the statement said.

Lil Jon described his son as ‌an “amazingly talented ‌young man” who was ‌a ⁠music producer, artist, ‌engineer, and a New York University graduate.

“Thank you for all of the prayers and support in trying to locate him over the last several days. Thank you to the entire Milton police department involved,” the “Snap ⁠Yo Fingers” rapper added.

A missing persons report was ‌filed on Tuesday for Smith ‍in Milton, Georgia, authorities ‍said in a post on the ‍Milton government website.

Police officials added that a broader search for Smith, also known by the stage name DJ Young Slade, led divers from the Cherokee County Fire Department to recover a body from a pond near ⁠his home on Friday.

"The individual is believed to be Nathan Smith, pending official confirmation by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office,” the post continued.

While no foul play is suspected, the Milton Police Department Criminal Investigations Division will be investigating the events surrounding Smith’s death.

Lil Jon is a Grammy-winning rapper known for a string ‌of chart-topping hits and collaborations, including “Get Low,” “Turn Down for What” and “Shots.”