Was it Supersonic? Oasis: Live '25 reviewed
It’s not every day that you step off the Tube to be given a free bucket hat, but when Oasis are in town it’s pretty much mandatory. A sea of Adidas and parkas descend on Wembley for the gig that nobody thought would happen. Cast and Richard Ashcroft put on stellar shows - Bittersweet Symphony proving that this is a crowd raring to go – and then we wait to see if Live '25 lives up to the hype.
Oasis’ walk-on music sets the tone. The wild-west meets a boxing match. It’s bold and it’s biblical; the screens show newspaper clippings of the rivalry, the rumours and, finally, the reunion. Then there they are: Liam and Noel Gallagher together in front of 90,000 people – all of whom are absolutely mad for it.
They begin with Hello, apt for its ‘good to be back’ refrain before moving on to the raw rock of Acquiesce and Morning Glory. Liam’s voice is rougher than it used to be, but has kept that youthful, rebellious quality we love it for. Noel’s harmonies are, as ever, a Guinness-smooth contrast. Instrumentally, the band don’t miss a beat: Bring It on Down’s drums are head-banging while Some Might Say has guitars ripping like none you’ve heard before. They don’t need to have elaborate staging or choreography because they’re Oasis – the songs and the swagger are what we came for.
Liam only asks one thing of their audience, that we perform Man City’s beloved Poznan to Cigarettes & Alcohol. Dutifully, we all turn around, hold on to each other and jump to that thumping intro, most of us singing the instrumental. The football match feeling pervades the whole gig, but not in an overly-laddish way, just that unified euphoria as your team put on a great show at Wembley: it doesn’t matter if you’re aged 20 or 60, this is one of the greatest moments of your life.
The amazing thing about a great gig is that nobody judges you: you can shout the lyrics to D’You Know What I Mean? whilst doing some classic nineties shoegazing, you can well up during The Masterplan because it means a lot to you, you can even do your Liam Gallagher stance and bad Mancunian accent in the presence of the man himself; nobody cares. Everyone has their favourite Oasis track, the one that reminds them of this or that, and every song in the set feels suitably meaningful.
Noel’s trio of songs midway through the set manage to stay gentle and intimate, even as the crowd roar along to Little By Little, then Liam returns to deliver more punchy classics. Live Forever is poignantly dedicated to the legendary Ricky Hatton, and Rock ‘n’ Roll Star follows with its iconic intro fuelling more ecstatic jumping from the audience.
That is supposedly the end of the show, but the two biggest hits have yet to be played. Don’t Look Back in Anger is the hymn of the evening, Wonderwall the track where you think of karaoke nights with your friends, then Champagne Supernova finishes Live '25 – the one where you become nostalgic and sentimental. Liam says goodbye, ‘see you next year’ (Knebworth rumours begin) and that’s that. This was more than a gig; it was a moment in history and proof that nothing is ever impossible. We will always be mad for it.