Definitely Maybe at 30: Why Oasis defined the spirit of 90s Britain

Thirty years after the release of their captivating debut album, Oasis have announced they are reuniting – news that has delighted middle-aged fans and a whole new generation alike.

Like all great bands, Oasis has a history that is enshrined in rock 'n' roll folklore: from their serendipitous spotting by record exec Alan McGee after they gatecrashed the bill of a gig in Glasgow in 1993, to the moment that marked the end 16 years later when Liam Gallagher threw a piece of fruit at his brother Noel backstage in Paris.

Warning: This article contains language that some readers may find offensive.

It's a story that has only become more mythologised over the years as – despite persistent rumours and frequent pleas from fans – the brother Gallaghers could never quite manage to put aside their differences and get Oasis back together again. Until now. This week, almost 15 years to the day that they split up, the band confirmed they are reuniting for a string of live dates next summer. Announcing the news, they said: "The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over."

The huge UK and Ireland stadium tour (international dates are also believed to be on the cards) makes this one of the biggest – and certainly most-anticipated – musical comebacks in history. And it won't just be middle-aged Gen X-ers dusting off their parkas and trying to snag tickets, but a whole new generation of fans, many of whom weren't even born when the band first came on the scene. Oasis defined an era – but, as people of all ages unite in excitement over the news, they've also proved themselves to be timeless.

The reunion news comes in the same week that Oasis celebrate the 30th anniversary of their debut, Definitely Maybe. Released during the last gasps of summer 1994, just four months after their first single, Supersonic, it became the fastest selling debut album of all time in the UK, turning Liam and Noel into the rock 'n' roll stars they dreamed of becoming, and Oasis into the biggest UK band of a generation, who would go on to sell 75 million records worldwide.

It's easy to look back now and see Oasis's success as inevitable. From the start, the band stood out for their immense confidence – proclaiming early on that they would be bigger than The Beatles. Yet, for a group of working-class lads from Manchester, world domination was far from certain, something Noel recently itted in an interview to mark Definitely Maybe's anniversary. "A fucking singer who's 19 and lairy, [me] writing the songs, ripping off everyone who's fucking dead, the other three lads look like plumbers… you couldn't invent it."

But it was their background and a burning desire to escape it that would prove to be Oasis's superpower, connecting them to millions of others desperate to escape their everyday lives.

In the songs he wrote for Definitely Maybe, Noel captured that golden possibility of youth, when all that matters is your friends, your favourite bands and counting down the days to the weekend. The timing was fortuitous: Britain was coming out the other side of an economic recession and, with Tony Blair elected leader of the Labour Party, a switch in government was on the horizon. Change and optimism were in the air.

"In my mind my dreams are real", sings Liam on Rock 'N' Roll Star, the album's opener and statement of intent. "Tonight, I'm a rock 'n' roll star" – that wasn't simply Gallagher bravado, but an invitation to anyone listening to swap the mundane for the magical, even if just for 52 minutes. "You can have it all, but how much do you want it">window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'alternating-thumbnails-a', container: 'taboola-below-article', placement: 'Below Article', target_type: 'mix' });