The last time I saw John Power, frontperson of Cast, was at a mutual friend’s wedding, where he was throwing up out of the hotel window. That was 24 years ago. When I remind him, he says, “Well, you know, those were hedonistic days.”
Power doesn’t look any worse for wear. Cast just finished opening for Oasis on the first 10 dates of the Live ’25 Tour, and in a few days he’ll resume that role for the rest of the shows. These include Oasis’ New York (that is, New Jersey) and Los Angeles dates, plus a headlining slot at New York City’s Sony Hall September 3.
Being in the most coveted support slot in music isn’t where Liverpool-born and -bred Power expected to be four decades into his career. He started as bass player in the La’s, best known for their perennial “There She Goes,” arguably the first Britpop song before the movement had a name. He left after five years, switched back to rhythm guitar and formed Cast. Their debut, All Change—marking its 30th anniversary—emerged at the height of Britpop, became the fastest-selling debut on their label, and was certified double platinum in the U.K. But they didn’t keep up the momentum. The group disbanded and reunited more than once, releasing seven albums. Power put out three solo records and briefly rejoined the La’s. This is Cast’s third reformation, perfectly timed with the ’90s revival, not unlike the ’60s resurgence three decades ago.
“It’s become something more than a show,” Power says of the Oasis tour. “It’s a vicious world out there, and there’s so much joy in the gigs. People are going ape shit. I’ve watched many of the shows to the end because it’s an amazing, uplifting vibe all the way through. Oasis, to give them their due, are on top form. Liam is singing amazing. His voice is better than I’ve heard in a decade or more. It’s got a brightness that reminds you of Oasis in their heyday. Watching Noel’s expressions and nuances, he’s having the time of his life. As a musician myself, who’s perceptive, I’m picking up on little things the band seem to be doing different. You do these loose moves when it’s fucking happening. They’re in a really good place.”
“It’s strange how things come around, but they do. The timing, fucking hell, you couldn’t mention Britpop at the end of the ’90s. You’d get tarred and feathered. It was a burden. Now it’s the coolest thing again. It has to lie dormant for life to come back into it.”
Cast supported Oasis at their landmark Knebworth shows in 1996. Last year, promoting their 2024 album Love Is the Call, they opened for Liam Gallagher on his Definitely Maybe 30 Years tour. Power got a call from Liam soon after.
“He was really excited,” Power recalls. “He was like, ‘John, I’ve spoken to Noel, and we want you to open.’ He went through loads of contemporary bands and said, ‘I don’t want all this. I want this tour to open with a rock ‘n’ roll chord.’ He started singing ‘Sandstorm.’ We wouldn’t be on this tour if it wasn’t for Liam. There’s no doubt. It wasn’t a business decision. We’re there because Liam and Noel pushed and said, ‘We want them on the tour.’ That’s such a massive nod from our peers. It really authenticates our legacy.”
Power has had plenty of ups and downs. The other day, he says, someone told him they’d seen him walking through Bristol with his acoustic guitar and thought, “There’s John Power, doing his thing. Nobody knows him anymore. He’s still walking around with a guitar, troubadour vibe.”
The “troubadour vibe” is something he keeps returning to. “You dig deep when you’re playing to 40 people—or 15—on a Tuesday night in a wine bar in Birmingham and nobody fucking gives a shit,” he says. “After having success, you realize you’re singing, and it’s not even to the audience. These songs are about me and my journey. You keep holding them embers, blow on them, and never let them go out.”
Even before the Live ’25 slot, Power was having a big year. He walked his eldest daughter down the aisle, which, he says, was “the biggest day of my fucking year.” He completed a cathartic six-week theater tour of monologue and music, telling his life story through words and songs. He realized what he’d thought of as separate chapters were all one story.
Armed with this awareness, he began writing Cast’s next album, Yeah Yeah Yeah (due January 2026) with Youth producing. The first single, “Poison Vine,” features “London’s first lady of soul” P.P. Arnold, and shares its DNA with “Gimme Shelter.” British radio has already embraced it. The follow-up single, “Way It’s Gotta Be (Oh Yeah),” also with Arnold, arrives August 22, just before the North American Live ’25 dates.
“Any one of these events would have been the biggest event of the year,” says Power. “But to have them all running consecutively through to releasing the new album in January, talk about alignment. You couldn’t fucking make it up.”
Even with all the excitement, Power is, dare we say, zen. “You get to a certain age, and you recognize the present is where you’ve got to remain,” he says. “It’s liberating. You know you’re passing through. It’s not a bad thing. It’s the way it’s meant to be. You couldn’t tell a younger me—who was fickle—that. I’m very happy to be in this moment. It feels sweeter than the big scale success we had in the U.K. before because I was too flippant. I was a young, nihilistic, immortal wannabe rock star. I appreciate things much more now.”
He adds, “The good old days are fucking right now. I’m riding that wave. Ultimately, this wave is going to crash on the shore. But fuck me, what a wave, we’re surfing it all the way.”
