Noel Gallagher took a brief pause to compose himself as he and his brother Liam stepped onto the stage for Oasis’ first gig in 16 years. The legendary band performed at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Friday night, with over 70,000 emotional fans witnessing the historic event.
During the performance of Half The World Away, Noel momentarily stopped singing and appeared moved as he absorbed the scenes before him. The band kicked off their eagerly awaited set with Hello, after which Liam addressed the crowd: “Hey beautiful people it’s been too long,.”
The concert had a Knebworth feel to it from the start, complete with a football being tossed around amongst the audience.
The second song they performed was Acquiesce. Following this, Liam delivered his speech before the band launched into Morning Glory.
After performing Roll With It, Liam exited the stage, leaving Noel to take over vocal duties. Prior to starting the song, Noel seemingly alluded to the dynamic pricing scandal by quoting the audience a price before declaring: “It’s just gone up!”, reports the Mirror.
Shortly thereafter, a member of the audience was seen being placed on a stretcher and escorted through the crowd by security. The medical team hurried to the stretcher, which was removed from Noel’s side of the stage as D’You Know What I Mean played.
The much-anticipated tour marks the end of months of speculation, a frenzied ticket sale and a lengthy 16 year wait for fans.
August 2024 saw a stunning revival announcement from the band, who exclaimed: “The guns have fallen silent. The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see. It will not be televised.”
A frenzied dash to snag tickets ensued as 17 shows were slated for London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Dublin before the group expanded their schedule with more gigs in North America, Mexico, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Chile and Argentina – offering global fans a chance to experience their hits live once more.
On the Friday that Oasis made their return, the crowd was treated to warm-up acts Cast and Richard Ashcroft.
Even one of Noel Gallagher’s former wives, Meg Mathews, who he was wed to from 1997 until their split in 2001, was spotted among the audience, evidently in high spirits anticipating Richard’s performance.
And it wasn’t just Meg looking forward to seeing Richard on stage; Noel himself appeared to sneak into the crowd to catch the tail end of his set, mere moments before his own big moment under the spotlight.