Barry Egan at Oasis's first gig in 16 years: ‘This is the sound of an entire generation singing its communal heart out'

Irish Independent

19 hours ago

Liam and Noel Gallagher hold hands as tour begins before 75,000 enraptured fans in Cardiff
The Game of Thrones-like feud had dragged on for so long between Noel Gallagher and his little brother Liam that people were starting to believe their band's reunion would never happen.
But at 8.15pm on Friday night in the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, it did.
As the pre-recorded intro music of F**kin' in the Bushes blasted out into the night, a spooky voice announced 'this is not a drill' while behind on the giant screens was a flurry of media headlines about a certain band getting back together.
And then, there they were — the once-fighting siblings walked out on stage holding hands, in a frankly beautiful display of reconciliation.
Liam wore his trademark parka jacket zipped up to the neck like he was out for a walk on a winter's night; Noel was in a denim shirt like he was off to the pub with his bestie Bono.
Backed by Bonehead and Gem Archer on guitar, Andy Bell on bass and Joey Waronker on drums, this was the first time Oasis had been on stage in 16 years. They immediately launched into the punked-up glamrock of Hello. 'Yes, you beautiful people,' said Liam. 'It's been too long. Oasis in the area!'
The reaction was rapturous. The next number, Acquiesce, set the tone. The brothers share the vocals. They sing about unity and harmony: 'Because we need each other/We believe in one another.'
I'm not suggesting they've put all their differences aside and are watching movies together in their pyjamas each night, but at least they are standing on the same stage again.
The fight that split up the band — in a Paris dressing room in August 2009, when Liam attacked Noel with a guitar — seemed a lifetime ago. As did Noel's comments to me in 2017 for the Sunday Independent, that his brother was 'a village idiot'.
The noise level in Cardiff was as close to deafening as you'll get without actually sticking your head inside the engine of a 747. It sometimes made the sound distort and Liam's vocals hard to hear, but no one appeared to care much.
The mood in the crowd was triumphant, even before they had played a note
Over the next two hours, they didn't disappoint the sell-out crowd, playing a non-stop list of generation-defining Britpop stormers, mostly taken from their first two classic albums, Definitely Maybe from 1994 and (What's The Story) Morning Glory from 1995.
ADVERTISEMENT
Little By Little from 2002 was the only song they performed that was released after their third album Be Here Now came out in 1997.
The mood was triumphant in the crowd even before they had played a note. It was like history was being re-made before our eyes.
Indeed, the atmosphere all day in the streets of Cardiff was one of expectation, excitement and jubilation.
Thousands of fans sat outside city pubs enjoying pints in the sunshine. Oasis songs blared out of every pub window and cafe. Handwritten signs outside restaurants stated: 'Don't look back in hunger.'
The BBC were broadcasting live outside the bus station. Radio journalists from all over the world were interviewing fans on the street.
Rock 'N' Roll Star still has the same audacity it had when it came out in 1994
Fans had travelled from as far as South Korea and South America.
Oasis swiftly dispelled any fears that had left it so long that they would return as a heritage act. The songs, breathlessly performed, still cast a spell — the power of the melodies still sweep the listener off somewhere into their imagination.
When Liam sang Supersonic at 9.30pm, the song's mission statement of 'I need to be myself, I can't be no one else' had the whole crowd singing the words back to him, like it was their song.
That is the true wonder of Noel's songwriting. Everyone in Wales on Friday night had their own personal raw emotions and tangled memories particular to Oasis's songs.
Rock 'N' Roll Star still has the same audacity it had when it came out in 1994. Roll With It is still a blitzkrieg of rock energy. Cast No Shadow is still one of the most powerful songs you'll hear about the human condition.
A highlight of the night was the performance of Live Forever. It was made even more emotional when the image of Diogo Jota — the Liverpool and Portugal footballer tragically killed in a car crash last week and whose funeral was held yesterday — appeared on the screens.
Liam still possesses one of the greatest voices in rock history. Noel still looks as cool as ever
And Liam still possesses one of the greatest voices in rock history. Noel still looks as cool as ever, standing in the same spot all night 30 feet to the left of our kid.
His solo performances of Talk Tonight, Half the World Away and, in particular, Little by Little was a testament to his genius as an artist who has written many of the greatest songs of his, or any, generation.
Dressed in endless bucket hats and sports tops and runners, 75,000 fans hugged each other as they danced and sang along to the songs that were the soundtracks to their lives.
It was the sound of an entire generation singing its communal heart out, still mad for it.
'You lot having a good time?' Liam asked before adding, tongue-in-cheek in reference to the controversy over ticket prices: 'Was it worth the £4,000 you paid for the ticket?'
Joking aside, it was worth any money to see Oasis almost at their boisterous, mid-1990s' peak again.