Readers respond to those Supersonic Oasis ticket prices and a smoking ban outside

Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments.

Don’t look back in anger…

To those complaining about the Oasis 2025 concerts, don’t go to see them.

In their day they had great songs, although some performances were poor.

Most people who have been to see them individually get a great show. Liam Gallagher’s voice has got better and brother Noel can sing a bit as well.

This will be the biggest UK concert series ever. To all those who have a problem with it, just roll with it. John, Manchester

Or, show the ticket companies who’s boss?

Instead of crashing booking systems and sending the cost of tickets, travel and accommodation sky high, everybody should stop the panic by staying away from events and watch the industry go into meltdown as it realises nobody’s interested in being ripped off anymore.

Stop for a year and the prices would flatline. Kill the greed! Raz, Essex

That’s quite a claim

The suggestion by Ryan (MetroTalk, Thu) that Oasis are ‘Manchester’s Status Quo’ is an insult to Status Quo.

I can name 30 songs by Status Quo but I can’t name one by Oasis. Quo’s songs are still popular more than 50 years since they were released.

Oasis’s songs will disappear in the same way those by Take That and The Spice Girls have. Martin J Phillips, Leeds

Will the outside smoking ban kill outside entertainment?

Labour’s proposed smoking ban outside pubs, clubs and, I presume, festivals is bonkers and I’m furious.

As an avid club, pub and live music enthusiast, I have seen the closure of almost all of north London’s clubs and music venues over the past few years.

For a city where many young people do not leave their homes or even their bedrooms, and with a large increase in mental health issues, encouraging the closure of these remaining community hubs is seriously worrying.

Neighbourhood noise concerns will force clubs into refusing smokers’ re-entry, therefore in effect banning them entirely. Hasn’t the hospitality industry been through enough financially? Doesn’t this industry deserve time to recover?

This will have implications for the economy, other industries that depend on night trade and an enormous impact on the mental health of London’s citizens – those who smoke and, for the reasons above, those who don’t. Deborah, North London

Here we go again – pubs complaining how the ban on outside smoking will affect their business.

When they banned smoking on planes, did people stop flying? No.

When they banned smoking in the workplace, we had the constant complaint that businesses would not be able to function. Didn’t happen.

Then there was the ban in all public buildings, including pubs – oh no, pubs would close! Didn’t happen.

When shops had to stop openly displaying cigarettes, the complaint was this would be detrimental to smaller shops. Wasn’t the case.

I get fed up of listening to people such as Tory MP Esther McVey bringing the Nazis into it by quoting the ‘First They Came’ Holocaust poem, and some tabloids trying to stoke up fires.

If it helps stop people smoking, thereby improving their health, so be it. Corin, London

The war on smoking should include vaping too

I cannot agree with Michele (MetroTalk, Mon) that if someone wishes to smoke outside in a public space, it’s down to them.

Smokers are of an increasing minority and the presence of just one practising their inconsiderate habit is sufficient to deter many from dining alfresco.

However, I have not seen cafés mentioned, so I hope this is an oversight that will be corrected. Robert Hughes, London

I totally get why Sir Keir Starmer wants a smoking ban, but with the revenue the government makes from tobacco in taxes, how will this play out? Becks, via email

Vaping is the bigger enemy. I regularly see people vaping on buses, trains, trams, planes, in shops and shopping centres, restaurants etc. Sean, Manchester

What are your thoughts? Have your say in the comments belowComment Now