From brink-of-greatness club gigs to generation-defining gatherings, there’s been no shortage of, well, biblical live moments from Oasis throughout their career so far. Even as the band were on the cusp of implosion back in 2009, Liam and Noel were still putting on tours across the planet that live long in the memory of their fans. As the reunion dates draw closer, we’ve picked out some of their best live performances to get us even more excited.
King Tut’s, Glasgow, May 1, 1993
The big break that very nearly never happened. Things could have panned out very differently had Oasis not hitched a ride up to Glasgow with fellow Mancunian band Sister Lovers back in May 1993. Although they weren’t initially meant to be on the bill that night, Liam and Noel managed to squeeze onto the lineup and perform four tracks in front of 12 people, including onlooking Creation Records boss Alan McGee, who would instantly offer them a record deal. The setlist only included ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’, ‘Bring It On Down’, ‘Up in the Sky’ and ‘I Am The Walrus’, but that was more than enough to convince McGee.
Key track: ‘I Am The Walrus’
Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, June 26, 1994
1994 was the year Britpop took Glastonbury by storm with Oasis performing alongside Radiohead, Pulp and Blur. “Are you gonna wake up then yeah?” snarled a knowing Liam Gallagher as Oasis took to the NME New Bands Stage.
For their now-infamous Worthy Farm debut, the brothers breezed through a set of soon-to-be generation-defining anthems. Stardom was looming large for the band at this point – just weeks before the festival, they’d had their first NME cover with the words ‘What the world is waiting for’ emblazoned across the front page. Once you get over the huge collars, Liam’s fillings and the tinnies, it’s just as compelling watching the crowd as bodies surge back and forth as crowdsurfing punks and hippies tumble over the barrier.
Key track: ‘Live Forever’
Whisky-A-Go-Go, Los Angeles, September 29, 1994
It’s the sense of chaos and unpredictability that’s always made Liam Gallagher’s stage presence just so gripping. One of the band’s early Stateside shows was memorable for all the wrong reasons after they’d just been introduced to crystal meth. It shows as a trollied Liam stonily gazes into the moshing front rows as if on his own planet. Not one famed for its technical brilliance with a stop-start pace and sound issues, but there’s still something surreal about hearing anthems like ‘Rock N Roll Star’ and ‘Supersonic’ ring out at the legendary Sunset Strip venue. The show also led to Noel momentarily quitting the band and leaving for San Francisco on his own, where he would write ‘Talk Tonight’.
Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, June 23, 1995
The band’s first Worthy Farm headline always had to make this list. It’s a testament to their world-beating rise that they’d return to headline the festival just a year after their first appearance there. The band’s rendition of ‘Slide Away’ has been cited by many fans as its best ever airing, and it’s not hard to see why. Liam pours every ounce of emotion into the vocal lines with his tambourine draped over his neck and his hands behind his back in what will always be remembered as a moment of rock and roll perfection. The band would go on to headline the festival for a second time in 2004.
Key track: ‘Slide Away’
Maine Road, Manchester April 27th and 28th, 1996
It couldn’t be more fitting that Oasis’ first stadium headline came in their own backyard. For two devout Manchester City fans, playing in front of a hometown crowd of 80,000 people at Maine Road meant everything to Liam and Noel. Speaking to a local news crew ahead of the two headline shows, Noel said: “It’s probably going to be the biggest day of our lives,” before cheekily adding, “until we do it next time.” The triumphant homecoming was an epic precursor to what would come next, as they’d manage to scale up yet again just a few months later.
Key track: ‘The Masterplan’
Balloch Castle Country Park, Loch Lomond, August 3-4, 1996
Oasis continued their long love affair with Scotland that very summer for a show on the bonny banks of Loch Lomond. Reflecting on the shows, Alan McGee later told STV News, “Oasis always loved Scotland because we were right on Oasis from day one, we got one of those great iconic Oasis photographs when they both kissed each other on the lips.” At these shows, the band would also air a handful of tracks from 1997’s ‘Be Here Now’ for the first time. Although there were supposed to be 80,000 in attendance, promoters estimate there were a lot more, with fans pulling down fencing and swimming across the loch to get into the arena.
Key track: ‘Champagne Supernova’
Knebworth, Hertfordshire, August 10-11, 1996
Six years after The Stone Roses staged their coming-of-age moment at Spike Island (with Noel Gallagher in attendance), Oasis laid down their own rite-of-passage bash at Knebworth for over 250,000 people over two nights. Noel wasn’t wrong when he beckoned onstage to a sea of adoring fans, “This is history, this is history, right here, right now. This is history.” Speaking to Absolute Radio around the show’s anniversary recently, he reflected: “It’s the band at its absolute peak, it’s a real snapshot of a long-gone era.” The shows were the very epitome of a band at the height of their powers as they changed lives in front of their diehard tribe across two hot summer days in August.
Key track: ‘Columbia’
G-Mex, Manchester, December 13-14, 1997
The band’s Manchester return on the ‘Be Here Now’ tour is also cited by diehard fans as one of the true great Oasis shows. The tour saw the band arrive onstage through a giant red telephone box in keeping with the British iconography on the album cover. Broadcast for MTV, the band were pretty much pitch perfect as they coasted through ‘Be Here Now’ classics like ‘All Around The World’ and ‘D’You Know What I Mean’ with pure pomp and swagger.
Key track: ‘D’You Know What I Mean?’
Wembley Stadium, London, July 21-22, 2000
There was still no stopping Oasis as they steamrolled into the millennium. What better way to keep the party going than a show at the home of English football? After a day of build-up in the scorching London sunshine, there’s perhaps no intro more rousing than that of ‘Fuckin’ In The Bushes’ which sent thousands into delirium as the clattering spoken-word intro sounded: “You wanna break our walls down? / And you wanna destroy? / Well, you go to hell!” The show was released on the live album ‘Familiar to Millions’ with an accompanying documentary capturing the palpable bevvied-up atmosphere, scuffles and all.
Key track: ‘Fuckin’ In The Bushes’
Barrowlands, Glasgow, October 13-14, 2001
As an all-conquering stadium force, it was always going to be memorable as the band hit more intimate venues on the ‘10 Year Of Noise and Confusion Tour’ to mark a decade since their formation. The tour kicked off with two nights at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire, then headed north to Manchester Apollo before finishing at Glasgow’s infamous Barrowlands. By the time the band reached the set-closer ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’, which they dedicated to Scottish footballing hero Ally McCoist, the packed room was dripping in sweat and beer.
Key track: ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’
River Plate, Buenos Aires, May 3, 2009
The ‘Dig Out Your Soul’ tour might ultimately be remembered by the band’s infamous row that took place before they were due to hit the stage at Rock En Seine in Paris, but Oasis still played a world-beating run of well over 100 shows around the world as part of it. Although it was packed with highlights, there was something ridiculous about seeing the band perform to an adoring Argentinian crowd at River Plate. Before a solitary version of ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’, Noel was able to reflect on his own journey: “I first game to this stadium in 1989 when I was a roadie for a band called Inspiral Carpets, it’s a privilege to be playing here tonight after all these years, it’s been a very special night.”
Key track: ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’