Noel Gallagher and the show that became Oasis’ “low point”
No up-and-coming rock band is safe from having an occasional bad show. From faulty production to the musicians not being well-rehearsed, there are millions of reasons why potentially good concerts can slowly grind to a halt. Most bands get past these growing pains when they’re first starting, but Oasis brought the trainwreck to one of the biggest stadiums in the world in the early 2000s.
As part of their comeback circuit for the album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, the Gallagher Brothers returned to play Wembley Arena, with new members Andy Bell and Gem Archer in tow. While the Britpop legends were ready for the gig, the drama leading up to the show led to everything spiralling out of control.
After a few scraps (surprise, surprise) with his brother Liam, Noel had left the band for a little while, leaving some Oasis gigs to be played with replacement guitarist Matt Deighton. Though Noel had made amends with his brother for the Wembley gigs, Liam was in a completely different headspace.
Whereas his brother had been trying to kick his hardcore drug habits, Liam had relapsed severely after separating from his wife, Patsy Kensit. Liam had indulged a little too hard in preparation for the gig and was in no shape to perform by the time they hit the stage. Instead of rescheduling, Liam took the opportunity to take the piss throughout the gig, either not singing the right lyrics or going on rambling spiels whenever he wasn’t singing.
Though the original idea was to include this gig on the live album Familiar to Millions, the vocals had to be taken from a separate gig because of how distracting the rambling got between the vocal lines. Since the whole concert was recorded, fans get to see the band having that breakdown onstage, as Noel desperately tries to hold it together while Liam resists at every turn.
Aside from the Noel-led songs, the only song that is untouched by Liam in the set is ‘Live Forever’, with most of the other tunes including some harsh words for his ex-wife, calling her a ‘dodgy whore’ in the middle of the song ‘Gas Panic’.
Although Oasis wouldn’t break up until 2009, Noel saw the show as one of the band’s lowest points, telling Radio X (via NME), “It’s a disgrace. That was the low point in Oasis,” he said. “It was a horrible two-and-a-half hour on stage. Liam can hang his head in shame. It was dreadful”.
This wasn’t the first time Oasis had a legendary trainwreck onstage. Before they had recorded What’s the Story Morning Glory, the band had already gone on a disastrous tour of America where they played a show at Los Angeles’ Whiskey-A-Go-Go, with half of the band members high on crystal meth.
In the years since, Liam did at least feel some shame about the Wembley gig, telling Radio X that the footage is the reason why he doesn’t drink onstage anymore. He said: “When you’re 20 and that, you can do what you want. I used to smoke ganja on stage and everything. But now, I’d end up singing Taylor Swift songs, you know what I mean, forget what band I’m in”.
