Oasis returned to Ireland for the first time in 17 years to perform in front of a sold-out crowd at Dublin’s Croke Park on Saturday (August 16), but the crowd chant has been slammed
Oasis made their return to Ireland to perform for the first time in 17 years in front of an ecstatic atmosphere before more than 80,000 fans at Croke Park on Saturday (16 August).
This marked the first of two sold-out shows for brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, who dedicated their Be Here Now classic, Stand By Me, to their mother Peggy, from Charlestown County Mayo, who was confirmed to be in attendance for her reconciled sons’ comeback.
Oasis had already won over crowds across Wales, England and Scotland before reaching Ireland, but Dublin’s atmosphere may have been the best yet.
At one point, during Noel’s solo segment of the concert, where he performed Little by Little, Half the World Away and Talk Tonight, the elder of the band’s siblings paused to take in the crowd as they chanted ‘Olé Olé Olé’ in perfect harmony.
Multiple clips of the crowd’s chants were shared on social media, with many quick to commend the Irish fans for their enthusiasm in the first of two sold-out reunion concerts, reports the Irish Mirror.
“Now that’s Ireland,” one user on X, formerly known as Twitter, commented on a 32-second clip featuring the Olé chants, with Noel visible on the stage’s massive screens stepping back to appreciate the moment.
Not everyone was quite so impressed with the 80,000 crowd’s behaviour, however, with one viewer describing the Olé chant as “the cringiest part of every concert in Ireland,” though another responded: “Why do people suddenly pretend to hate this. It’s f****** class when you’re there.”
The beloved chant is frequently heard at sporting fixtures, gigs and homecoming celebrations, with its roots commonly traced back to the Italia ’90 World Cup, where Ireland progressed to the quarter-finals before being knocked out by the host nation.
Composer and lecturer at Dublin City University, Dr Seán Doherty has previously shed light on the tune’s fascinating backstory.
The chant’s melody originates from the 1985 Belgian track Anderlecht Champion, which originally included the French ‘allez, allez, allez’ lyrics rather than the Spanish ‘Olé’, which emerged the following year for the Mexican World Cup.
Throughout Italia ’90, Put ‘Em Under Pressure served as Ireland’s tournament anthem, during which “it got inserted into every Irish person’s brain,” according to Dr Doherty.
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