Bookies Close Betting On Oasis, The Libertines Glastonbury 2014 Reunions

After taking to his Twitter page to post the name of his former band, the famed brit-pop act Oasis, Liam Gallagher has helped the group become odds-on favourites for Glastonbury 2014 headliners, leading some betting agencies to suspend all betting. Fellow English rockers The Libertines now also have strong odds, following an announcement that they will reunite to play London’s Hyde Park on 5th July.

On the night of Thursday, 24th April, Liam Gallagher spelt out the name of his former band letter-by-letter, followed by a final tweet, signed: “OASIS LG”. Fans and bookies were inundated with speculation of a Glastonbury 2014 reunion, with bookmakers Ladbrokes and Paddy Power now suspending all betting on who will be the Saturday night headliner at this year’s festival.

Dampening the Oasis reunion speculation is former Oasis guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs, who has claimed that Liam’s tweets were published because he and Liam were at the pub. Arthurs took to his own Twitter account to tweet the letters “P”, “U” and “B”, followed by a picture of his drink. Arthurs then asked NME, “What did he tweet, was it regarding fig rolls or something? There were no fig rolls involved, officer.”

When he was asked what Gallagher’s tweets could have meant, the guitarist replied, “Probably the fact that I texted him going, ‘Meet me in the beer garden’. That probably rattled his cage. Maybe that. I don’t know though, because I meet him every fucking month. Maybe he’s just reminiscing.”

Despite Arthurs’ suggestions, Gigwise noted that odds on Oasis taking the all-important Saturday night slot were cut from 10/1 to a more optimistic 3/1 thanks to that speculation, while odds for The Libertines returning as headliners peaked at 25/1. The two bookies are no longer taking bets on which of the pair may join Arcade Fire and Kasabian at the very top of the bill.

“We had a market on the Glastonbury headline acts for the Saturday evening but following Liam Gallagher Twitter teasing yesterday evening the betting was suspended,” a Paddy Power spokesperson told Gigwise.

Jessica Bridge of Ladbrokes also confirmed the spike in interest to The Guardian, stating that Oasis’ odds were at 33/1 at one stage: “Oasis were 33/1 until Liam’s cryptic tweet and within minutes punters were clamouring to back them at any price available to headline Glastonbury,” she said.

“In next to no time we’ve racked up significant liabilities on a sensational reunion and it was time to take a breather when they were backed into odds-on.”

A spokesperson for Noel Gallagher told The Guardian that they are “not in a position” to comment on Liam’s tweets. However, Noel stated in August 2013 that an Oasis 2014 reunion “definitely won’t happen”.

The strengthening of The Libertines’ odds followed the announcement that they are to headline the British Summertime event on 5th July, alongside acts like The Pogues, Spiritualized, Maximo Park, and Wolf Alice.

The Libertines’ appearance at the event follows speculation of their reformation, which was fueled by comments from the band’s co-frontman Pete Doherty, who told an Israel-based newspaper last week, “I don’t know if I’m supposed to even tell you this, but we were offered to reform The Libertines for a show this July in Hyde Park.”

The Libertines released two albums in the early noughties, then reformed briefly in 2010 to play Reading and Leeds festivals, but have not played together since. Oasis split back in 2009 after a backstage altercation between warring brothers Liam and Noel. Liam has been performing with his new band Beady Eye in recent years. The band have released two studio albums.

Watch: Oasis – Wonderwall