The Wankers, a New Jersey-based quintet that bills itself as “The Best of Britpop – and Beyond,” will be the opening act on eight dates of the east coast leg of Oasis’ 2025 U.S. tour.
“We were quite flummoxed when we heard the news,” says vocalist/guitarist David “Fagin,” aka Damon Gallagher. “Not because we got the gig. The lads in Oasis obviously have serious bullocks, as we do their songs better than they do, so it takes some real moxie to go on after us. They’ll be lucky if anyone stays to see their set. We take our hats off to them.”
However, bassist Helena Holmes, aka “Hellie O’Riordan,” isn’t counting her chickens just yet. She states, “On paper, opening for Oasis sounds pretty great, but when I asked our manager if it was a done deal, she replied ‘Definitely. Maybe.’”
With a live show that straddles the line between Spinal Tap and Monty Python, The faux-Brit talking Wankers pepper the audience with sardonic jabs, quips, and even the occasional insult, all whilst dressed like Austin Powers. Musically, according to him, Fagin/Gallagher nails each legendary artist they cover, i.e., Oasis, Blur, Coldplay, Radiohead, Supergrass, Stereophonics, Travis, Keane, etc. “I really don’t envy any tosser that has to follow my performance.”
Fagin definitely gives young Liam a run for his money in the ego dept. When asked what he thought of The Beatles, he replied, “Who?”
Why the brothers Gallagher chose a cover band to open some of their shows is best answered by The Wankers’ manager, Kelly Garvey. “I think they (Liam/Noel) recognize how big the tribute genre has become here in the states. And while there are a ton of Yacht Rock copycats out there, if you search the Yellow Pages for ‘Britpop Tribute’ The Wankers are the only name you’ll find, so we were probably an easy choice. I also give them props for giving a band that’s in the same AARP age bracket as they are the exposure. After all, we’re not gonna live forever.”
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