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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Casey Cooper-Fiske

Oasis dedicate song to ‘people who can’t be here tonight’ at Wembley gig

Liam Gallagher of Oasis on stage - (PA Wire)

Oasis dedicated Live Forever to “all the people who can’t be here tonight” during their Wembley Stadium gig on Sunday, after a fan fell to his death at the band’s concert on Saturday.

The touching moment came as the Manchester band brought to a close their first run of five gigs at the venue as part of their Live 25 tour.

A man in his 40s was pronounced dead at the scene at the stadium on Saturday after being “found with injuries consistent with a fall”.

Addressing fans on Sunday night after finishing Whatever, singer Liam Gallagher said: “This one’s for all the people who can’t be here tonight, but who are here if you know what I mean, and aren’t they looking lovely. Live Forever.”

The band then played the track of the same name. Gallagher has made a similar dedication before the song on previous dates of the tour.

The tribute came during a crowd-pleasing set packed with their biggest hits such as Cigarettes And Alcohol, Wonderwall and Don’t Look Back In Anger, with the group set to return to the national football stadium for two further dates in September.

Liam and Noel Gallagher arrived on stage hand-in-hand, opening with Hello, from their 1995 album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, prompting mass football terrace-style singalongs for an opening salvo of fan favourites that included Acquiesce, Some Might Say and Morning Glory.

Before Roll With It, Liam joked to the crowd that guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs wanted to sing Bonehead’s Bank Holiday, an album track from (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?

During 1994 standalone single Whatever, the band made a nod to their Beatles influence by including a snippet of Octopus’s Garden, from 1969’s Abbey Road album.

Oasis fans on Wembley Way (Lucy North/PA)

Before Half The World Away, Noel asked the crowd if there was anyone from Manchester in the crowd, receiving a number of boos. He replied: “None of you would be here if it wasn’t for the city of Manchester.”

The set climaxed with fireworks erupting over Wembley as the band played Champagne Supernova.

Before the final song, Liam told the crowd: “Nice one for putting up with us after all these years.”

The run of concerts has been the first time they have appeared together onstage at the London venue since July 12 2009, when they performed during the Dig Out Your Soul tour.

After the first part of their Wembley stint, the band will head to Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium followed by Dublin’s Croke Park.

The group will head to Japan, South Korea, South America, Australia and North America later in the year.

Oasis announced their reunion tour in August last year, 16 years after their dramatic split in 2009 which saw Noel quit following a backstage brawl at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris.

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