They did it, then. After a globe-trotting world tour, 250,000 pints of beer sold per gig and several sold-out nights at Wembley, Oasis have returned once more to London to give the fans what they’re looking for.
In other words, a hazy, nostalgia-soaked night with 90,000 people bellowing the words to Don’t Look Back in Anger. The moment the music started, pints went flying in a kind of act of joyous catharsis. Hell, some of those pints have probably been waiting to be chucked into the air for 16 years, since the band broke up in 2009. As far as feel-good moments go, it’s pretty much unbeatable.
Full disclosure: I wasn’t there for the Oasis heyday. I never saw them live in the Noughties, or either of the brothers during the ups and downs of their solo careers. But anybody growing up in the UK will know their hits; we’re practically born word perfect.
And Oasis is a band that’s stood the test of time: in addition to the dads, there were more than a few Gen Z fans sporting merch, bucket hats and teeny sunglasses sourced, ready to party. I (minus the sunglasses) was one of them; ready to be converted to the wonders of seeing them live.
They certainly delivered. Things kicked off (to earsplitting roars) to Hello, which was performed by Liam with a full-frontal snarl and bags of insouciance. It’s rare these days to find a band with half as much attitude; maybe they really did do it better in the Nineties.
From there, we went to Acquiesce, before the familiar chords of Morning Glory rang out. If people weren’t screaming then, they certainly were at that point; from there on, the clock seemed to whizz back in time; the ghost of a thousand pub singalongs filled the air, given super-powered lift-off by the fact that we were seeing them live. The whole thing, in fact, felt like it was taking place in a sweaty, tiny venue, except scaled up a thousand by Wembley’s vast interior.
Cigarettes and Alcohol came quickly after that, before the heart-string tugging Slide Away and Supersonic (which of course demanded to be sung with a beer in hand, if not a gin and tonic). In fact, the hits came so thick and fast it was hard to follow them all - Half the World Away, Talk Tonight and the poignant Stand By Me, which was delivered by a swaying crowd, linked arm in arm. At one point, I spotted two middle aged men in the crowd (complete strangers) hugging it out. It felt like millennial mecca.
Watching it all, I felt wistful for a time I couldn’t even remember, where people smoked indoors and Britpop was dominating the charts. Who could believe that was almost thirty years ago? The brothers must have time’s arrow, too: when Live Forever came on, it was with a poignant tribute to their friend, boxing star Ricky Hatton, who passed away a few days ago.
It was a lovely, poignant touch, and one that seemed to encapsulate what many of the band’s songs do at their best: bring people together, and make them feel big things. But it wasn’t all sad; from there, we got a swinging, punkish Rock ‘n’ Roll Star, then a one-two punch of their best songs for the encore.
Don’t Look Back in Anger, Wonderwall and Champagne Supernova? It felt like a setlist of legend, and one that set the bar sky-high for band reunions.
Looking around, I could see people getting misty-eyed during the choruses – and why not? Those three songs have sound-tracked most of my adult life; seeing them performed live was surreal in the best way. It’s been a lifetime in the making, and proof that the fans are still mad fer it. Next time, let’s hope the next gig doesn’t take 16 years to happen.
Touring; information at oasisinet.com
