John Power was just about to take to the stage with his band Cast in Aberdeen a few weeks ago when he noticed that Liam Gallagher of Oasis was tweeting out some cryptic posts on his reliably bonkers Twitter account.
"I kept seeing Liam post things like `CAST' in capital letters, like 'can’t wait to CAST away on our jolly journey’ and I thought this is a bit odd... " says the frontman of the Liverpool band who enjoyed hits such as Fine Time and Walkaway during the nineties Britpop boom and who are enjoying something of a rebirth with the release of their latest album Love is The Call.
"Then I got a call from Liam saying. 'John, I’ve just spoken to Noel and we want you to support us...'
"Me and the band were in the dressing room when I got the call and it was something out of the movies," Power adds. "Like, the cops are there and the suspect rings up and they put a trace on the call.
"It was like the bat phone had just gone off. We are just over the moon. It took a while to sink in."
Cast were just one of many acts from the Britpop era who were in the running to open for Oasis on their upcoming reunion tour, which includes two dates at Croke Park next August.
"I'm made up that they’re back together. It’s amazing because there’s a whole new generation who are gonna see and feel the power of that band. Croke Park is going to be legendary because it’s been missing so long."
After all, Cast have just supported Liam on his recent arena tour and Power’s former band The La’s were a huge influence on the young Gallaghers. Cast had also played with Oasis many times over the years, including two nights in Knebworth in 1996.
So, when it was confirmed last Monday, nobody was too surprised when the Liverpool act and former The Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft were confirmed for the bill for all 19 of Oasis's Irish and UK dates.
"It is the hottest ticket in town," says Power, who is now 57 and very proud of his Waterford roots. "We did a brilliant tour with Liam earlier in the year and historically Cast and Oasis go back, our histories meander and intertwine."
A message from @johnpowerla 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/FUYbV4pixd
— Cast (@castofficial) October 29, 2024
Playing with Oasis again after thirty years is like the closing of a cosmic circuit for Power. He first met the Gallagher brothers in the very early nineties when Noel was a roadie for Manchester band The Inspiral Carpets and Cork heroes The Frank and Walters and 16-year-old Liam was a face around town keen to grab a piece of the action.
Their paths would cross over and over again throughout the nineties and a mutual appreciation society formed. In a typical show of hyperbole, Noel once described watching Cast play live as a "religious experience," calling Power himself "as cosmic as the day is long."
"I first met Noel when The La’s were supporting Inspirals," recalls Power. "He was just a lad who was a guitar tech, and then I met Liam years later after I’d left The La’s and I went to a little club show and that’s where I bumped into Liam. He came bouncing over for a ciggie and I didn’t know who he was because he was just a young lad.
"Years later when Supersonic came out, Oasis were doing a gig, and I blagged my way in and it was packed and Liam came bouncing into the bar and recognised me from The La’s and we had a nice chat.
"I played him my new demo and Noel was very interested and then we got a show with them, which turned out to be very important to Cast’s journey because a guy from Polydor was at the gig and we got signed."
"Noel wrote all them songs and all them guitar licks why aren't you gonna stand there and surf that sound all the way to the shore? Him and Liam are gonna do their thing. The time is right for this reunion."
Power saw the rise and fall of the northern music powerhouse up close but when asked how he felt when Noel and Liam played out their sibling spat in public after Oasis split in 2009, he has one simple rule.
"Don’t get involved in family feuds, it’s their thing. If I’d seen Noel, he was always sound with me. If I saw Liam, he was always sound with me. It was never for me to comment on any sibling fallout. I have a great respect for them separately and they knew me well enough for me to give them the nod in that way.
"I’m made up that they’re back together. It’s amazing because there’s a whole new generation who are gonna see and feel the power of that band. Croke Park is going to be legendary because it’s been missing so long. I had glimpses of it on Liam’s arena tour this summer but with Noel on stage riffing, the energy between the two of them will be great."
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And how does he expect the brothers to get on when they take to the stage together for the first time since 2009?
"I’d say there will be an energy there. I think they’re gonna dig it. it’s been a long time coming," Power says. "Noel wrote all them songs and all them guitar licks why aren’t you gonna stand there and surf that sound all the way to the shore? Him and Liam are gonna do their thing. The time is right for this reunion."
Power grew up in Allerton, near Penny Lane, in Liverpool and attended the Beatles alma mater of Quarry Bank Comprehensive School. He also played John Lennon in Bob Eaton's musical Lennon at the Royal Court Theatre in London. His 25-year-old son Fin is the lead singer of the band Stone.
Of course, he is no stranger to the resurrection shuffle himself. He joined The La’s in 1986 as a bassist and the band would go on to crystallise their sixties beat group influences into a blueprint for Britpop in the late eighties and early nineties.
The band scored a hit with There She Goes and their one and only album is still a sacred artefact to many. They also played three gigs in Dublin in one day in 1989, including a gig at the Trinity Ball attended by U2. However, frustrated with their lack of progress and front man’s Lee Mavers’ perfectionism, Power left the band in 1991 and formed Cast, the band’s name taken from the last word sung on The La’s album.
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They in turn split in 2002 and he was back with The La’s for a short-lived reunion before Cast once again started recording and gigging.
Power knows all about lingering bad vibes when bands reform. "There can be bad vibes when it feels wrong. When it’s right, it’s right," he says.
"With Oasis, my gut feeling is that this time it was meant to be. I think Noel wants to get on stage and play them songs with his kid brother again and I think Liam wants to get on stage and sing them songs that mean so much to him with his brother again. I don’t analyse it more than that.
"Are there incentives? Of course, there are but deep down, the reason they picked up a guitar and joined a band is because of the dream and the magic of what music does to you and the audience. Being in Oasis and standing in front of an audience is some force to reckon with."
It has been quite a year for Power. Cast returned with a new album last February, his band have landed these high-profile Oasis support gigs and, perhaps most importantly, last January he finally got his Irish passport.
Me having a Guinness and celebrating the arrival of my Eire Passport. Love to me Dad. He'd have been a very happy man seeing this. X
— John power (@johnpowerla) January 21, 2024
Jp pic.twitter.com/SnqSygeZ3R
"I did indeed," he says. "I’m f***ing made up, la. My dad was from Waterford, and this means a lot to me for him. Unfortunately, he’s not with us anymore. My dad was an old rocker at heart. He used to jump up in the boozers and sing Eddie Cochran and Chuck Berry. He’d be over the moon that I’m doing this tour with Oasis. He used to come and see Oasis and Cast and The La’s in the early days."
Cast’s drummer Keith O’Neill also has an Irish passport and that Irish heritage is something they share with the Gallaghers, whose mother, Peggy, hails from Mayo. Their estranged father Tommy is a Meath man.
In fact, Power is back in Ireland with Cast for dates in Dublin, Cork and Belfast next week.
He reckons his roots have influenced him over the years. "It has because I’m a dreamer, a wordsmith and a singer. Music is very strong in the people I know with Irish heritage. Most people can get up and give you a song. Irish artists in general have a way of describing things. The force is strong.
"Reality and life is tough. You have to be a dreamer and pull yourself to a higher level or something beyond reality. Look out the window, it’s vicious out there. A lot of us dreamers use our muse or our art to connect with the world. I’m a romantic at heart."
How is Power going to feel when he walks on stage in Cardiff next July to support Oasis on their first show in 16 years. "It’s gonna be mind-blowing, mind-blowing," he says.
"There are lots of levels going on here. One is that Cast itself are really in a purple patch, we’ve just released a great record and we’re playing better than ever, we’re feeling great and I think cosmically these things happen.
"I had a little feeling this would happen. When you stop swimming against the tide and stop needing things, the universe doesn’t do desperation; it reflects you when you’re in the right zone.
"Supporting Oasis on this tour is cosmic to me. Here we are again - we’ve done a lot of big shows with Oasis and our legacy and personal journey is authenticated now. It’s a cosmic journey."
Oasis with support from Cast and Richard Ashcroft play Croke Park, Dublin on 16 and 17 August 2025. Both shows are sold out.
Cast play The Academy, Dublin on 7 November, Cyprus Avenue, Cork on 8 November and The Limelight, Belfast on 9 November.
