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VOCABULARY
1. kick off (phr v)
2. sold out (phr adj)
3. take to the stage (idiom)
4. stage presence (n phr)
5. backing singer (n phr)
Episode 4 transcript
Intro
Oasis were the biggest band in Britain from 1994 to 1997, selling tens of millions of copies of their albums. Now they’re back with a world tour. Let’s look at some gig-related vocabulary in the context of the news story.
I’m Karen. I host this podcast and each week I introduce five useful words or expressions to you and use them in the news story so that you hear them in context, which will make you remember them better.
And finally, at the end of each episode, I go into depth with the vocabulary and look at usage and pronunciation and more. Let’s get started.
Introducing the vocabulary
Vocabulary item one this week describes an event or meeting that is starting. So you can say that it’s starting, or you can say it’s… kicking off. So the phrasal verb is kick off vocabulary.
Item two: what do you say if a concert or performance has no tickets left? They are all… sold out. Sold out. And we’re going to look at very advanced ways of using this term at the end of the episode. So stay tuned.
Vocabulary item three means to go onto the stage, the area where somebody performs, and to start to perform. And it’s an idiom.
It’s take to the stage. Take to the stage. You’ll learn how to use that later in the episode.
Vocabulary item four: what do you call it when a performer can command attention and connect emotionally with the audience very well? We say they have… They have what? They have… stage presence. This is a noun phrase, and again, more detail later.
And the final vocabulary item for this week is what you call a singer who supports the lead singer, the main singer, by singing harmony or background parts. What’s that called in English? It’s called a backing singer. Backing. Backing singer.
And as a bonus, at the end of the episode, I will tell you my own anecdote about Oasis. So keep listening for that. Here is this week’s news story.
The news story
Oasis is back and the world is listening.
After 16 years of silence, Oasis have officially kicked off their Live ’25 comeback tour with two sold-out shows at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
Cardiff, by the way, is the capital of Wales.
The Britpop legends with the brothers, Liam and Noel Gallagher, took to the stage on Friday night at 8.15pm launching a 41-date World tour that covers five continents and runs until the 2nd of November.
They’ll be tired by the end of that.
The brothers are from… Do you know where they’re from? From Manchester and they’re from a working-class background. Noel Gallagher once said, “In Manchester, you either become a musician, a footballer, a drugs dealer or work in a factory. And there aren’t a lot of factories left, you know?” I love that quote.
The brothers got a bad reputation in the 90s for their physical and verbal aggression. Liam repeatedly called his brother Noel, “a massive potato”, and Noel said that Liam needed “to see a psychiatrist”. But nevertheless, their music defined a generation, not least because of Liam’s incredible stage presence.
Their first gig, which is another way to say concert, was a huge success on Friday night, and the 70,000 fans were not disappointed. One concert-goer, Mr Varley, who spent £250 each for his tickets, said, “If I could go again tonight, I would do.”
Another fan, Steve from Hertfordshire, who last saw Oasis perform in 2006, was asked for his favourite part of the performance. His reply? “The beginning, the middle and also the end.”
So happy fans there.
Accompanying the live band was a new edition, backing singer Jess Greenfield, known for her work with Noel’s High Flying Birds, which is a band he’s set up since Oasis.
With over 14 million fans trying to buy tickets and a predicted £400 million in revenue, Oasis Live ’25 is already seen as one of the most significant comebacks in UK music history.
Next stops include Manchester, their hometown, London, Edinburgh, Dublin and international dates across North America, Asia, Australia and South America.
The vocabulary in depth
Let’s dive into the vocabulary in more detail.
So vocabulary item number one was kick off, which is a phrasal verb, and it means start, especially if you’re talking about an event or meeting.
The match kicks off at three, for example. The match kicks off at three. Or what time does the meeting kick off?
In today’s news story, Oasis kicked off their tour in Cardiff, which means they started their tour in Cardiff. It’s a phrasal verb and it’s informal, and it can also mean that people start fighting, which Oasis did very often.
“Oh, no! Liam and Noel are kicking off again!” This means they’re starting to fight. Let’s hope they don’t fight during this tour.
The main stress is on the adverb off. So kick off, kick off, Liam and Noel are kicking off again.
Right. Vocabulary item two was sold out, which is a phrasal adjective from the phrasal verb sell out.
Again, the stress is on the adverb sold out. For example, we are completely sold out.
A show that is sold out is one for which all the tickets have been sold already. You can’t buy anymore – it’s sold out. It comes from the phrasal verb sell out: to have sold all of something and not have any left.
“Sorry, we’re sold out,” a shop assistant might say.
In the news story, Oasis’s two shows in Cardiff were sold out, but in more advanced English you can use a linked term, which is sell out, used adjectivally. So for example, a sell-out gig – a sell-out gig – means a gig for which all the tickets have been sold. So it has the same meaning, but it emphasises the success and popularity of the gig rather than just the practical truth that all the tickets are gone.
Sold out can come before a noun, but often comes after a verb. It has sold out, for example. Whereas sell out comes before a noun, for example, a sell out show, or on its own as a noun, so it was a total sell out. Oasis’s Cardiff concert was a total sell out.
Vocabulary item three was take to the stage, which is an idiom for you. Everybody loves an idiom. And it means the act of beginning a performance on a stage.
The band took to the stage at exactly 9.00pm for example. It can also mean start working as a theatre actor, more generally. So for example, After years of writing, he finally took to the stage as a performer. He started working as an actor.
Vocabulary item four was stage presence, which is a noun phrase. Let’s look at the pronunciation: stage presence, /əns/ at the end, /əns/, presence, stage presence.
If you have stage presence, the audience can’t help looking at you. Their eyes follow you because you have charisma, confidence and a kind of authentic energy. And I think Liam has this in spades, which means he has a lot of it.
Can you think of a performer with great stage presence? Tell me in the comments.
I’d suggest Freddie Mercury, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston. Who have I missed again? Let me know in the comments.
And the last one, five, was backing singer.
A backing singer supports the main singer, the lead singer, and provides background. They help enrich the sound, but they’re not the main focus. The main stress is on backing, backing singer. And there is an /ŋ/ sound at the end of backing. Backing singer, backing singer.
Jess Greenfield is the first female to join Oasis, and she’s joining on this tour as their backing singer.
So probably, you know Oasis. They’re of course incredibly famous, but if you don’t do, check it out. It’s brilliant music and of course studying lyrics is a fantastic way to learn English, so I recommend that for sure.
A well-known song by them is Wonderwall. And I remember one day, when I was at school, we were in assembly – when everyone gathers together – and a teacher started playing the song Wonderwall, and the whole room sang along – every single person, hundreds of us, we all sang every word!
And it was actually really magical, and it’s a moment that stayed with me ever since.
Outro
Ok, I hope you enjoyed today’s podcast episode. Don’t forget to subscribe. If you could give me a rating – five stars being the best of course – that would be great.
Thank you very much, and I’ll see you next week.
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