Oasis paid tribute to Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota, who this week died in a car accident, at their first reunion show.
The Manchester band, led by Liam and Noel Gallagher, kicked off their tour at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Friday (4 July), one day after the Portuguese sportsman was found dead with his brother, Andre Silva, in the Spanish city of Zamora.
Oasis played the outro for 1994 song “Live Forever” when the back of Jota’s No 20 Liverpool shirt was emblazoned on the screen, which got a huge roar of applause from the 75,000-strong audience.
One fan lifted a Portugal flag in the air in honour of the footballer and two red flares were set off during the show.
Jota had been travelling in a Lamborghini with his brother when their car veered off the road and burst into flames following what police suspect was a tyre blowout while overtaking.
The footballer’s family and teammates are set to gather in his hometown of Gondomar near Porto for his funeral on Saturday morning (5 July).
It follows a private and public wake held for the Liverpool player and his brother at the Capela da Ressurreicao on Friday.
Oasis’s tribute to Jota arrived after a “momentous” set that saw the siblings tear through their hits, including “Morning Glory”, “Supersonic”, “Half the World Away” and “Stand by Me”.
Thousands of fans gathered at the Cardiff venue to watch Oasis perform together for the first time since they broke up after a backstage fight in 2009.
Earlier in the concert, indie rock band Cast, who hail from Liverpool, paid tribute to Jota during their support act. Before they played the track“Walkaway”, frontman John Power said: “This one is for Diogo Jota. Take it easy brother.”
The Gallagher brothers’ interaction with the crowd was minimal, save for the odd moment that saw Liam ask those in attendance if they were “alright”.
At one stage, Liam made a taunt about the ticket pricing scandal, which occurred when the tour was announced last August. The dynamic pricing policy sees ticket prices double based on demand and was branded “disgusting” by those hoping to get tickets last August
“You’re having a good time, yeah?” he said, asking: “Is it worth the £40,000 you paid for the ticket?”
The row sparked an investigation by theCompetition and Markets Authority (CMA), which said Ticketmaster could have breached consumer protection law by selling “platinum” tickets for almost 2.5 times the standard price.
Ticketmaster said it “welcomed” the advice from the CMA to change the way it labelled tickets and reveal prices to fans in future. Meanwhile, Oasis ditched “dynamic” pricing for their US tour dates.
Revenue from the tour has been predicted to reach anything between £400m to £1bn, while Noel and Liam are expected to pocket £50m from the tour alone.
The Independent called the two hour-long show “the rock reunion to end them all”, with Mark Beaumont writing: “As Liam and Noel Gallagher tear through two hours of uninterrupted hits, it’s tough to imagine another comeback on such a momentous scale.”
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