Oasis gig the most ground-shaking, seismic data shows

The 2009 Oasis concert beat the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2004, Kings of Leon in 2011 and Taylor Swift in 2024, when measuring the peak earth-shaking power of each event.

The measurements were taken from a nearby seismic monitoring station, some four kilometres from the venue.

At peak power of 215.06 kilowatts, the Oasis show was more than twice as powerful as the next strongest one by the Red Hot Chili Peppers at 106.87kW.

The rankings were revealed ahead of Oasis's comeback tour arriving in the Scottish capital this weekend, meaning there could be another "shakermaker".

The power output is not related to the volume of the band or the crowd, rather it is the movement of fans jumping and dancing in time to the music, with the height of the jumping and weight of the crowd also potential factors.

"In 2009, seismic signals generated by Oasis fans were consistent with a crowd energy of 215kW at its peak - enough to power around 30 of the scooters featured on the iconic Be Here Now album cover," BGS seismologist Callum Harrison said.

"Our network of sensors around the country is sensitive enough to pick up ground movement from a source miles away that may not be detectable to humans - and precise enough to register exact timestamps for when the events occur.

"The peak energy reading was recorded around 8.30pm on that June evening back in 2009, which correlates to the time the band first took the stage and performed Rock 'N' Roll Star, which couldn't be more fitting in terms of topping our seismic music chart."

The BGS keeps an archive of continuous ground motion recordings from seismic sensors around the country, dating back several decades.

Ahead of the sold-out Oasis gigs in Edinburgh, Mr Harrison said it is "certainly possible" they could top the previous gig's output in 2009.

"The main contributing factors are going to be how energetic the crowd is," he said.

"If they're jumping along with the music, how high or how fast are they jumping?"