Oasis thank their fans as they close their first gig together in 16 years

By George Thompson

Oasis thanked their fans for “putting up with us over the years”, as they closed their first gig together in 16 years.

Noel and Liam Gallagher swaggered on to the stage before waving at concertgoers at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Friday, the first stop on their long-awaited worldwide reunion tour.

The brothers, who had not performed together since their dramatic split in 2009, blasted through their setlist, kicking off with Hello, from their second album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

During the gig, the lead singer apologised to fans for how long it had taken for them to reunite.

Liam spoke to the audience several times throughout the set, saying: “Hello people, it’s been too long,” before their third song, (What’s the Story).

Before launching into Cigarettes And Alcohol, Liam demanded the audience embrace, telling fans to turn around and hug a stranger.

He said: “Right then beautiful people, I want to see you all turn around and put your arms round each other.

“And when the tune starts, jump up and f****** down.”

Both brothers made joking references to the dynamic pricing scandal, which caused outrage among fans trying to buy tickets for shows in the UK and Ireland, with some standard tickets appearing to jump from £148 to £355.

The controversy prompted the Government and the UK’s competition watchdog to pledge to look at the use of dynamic pricing.

After Liam walked off stage following Roll With It, Noel took over singing duties for the first time.

He quoted the audience a price the gig was worth, before saying: “It’s just gone up.”

Later, Liam said: “Was it worth the £40,000 you paid for a ticket?”

During the final bars of Live Forever, a picture of Diogo Jota, the Liverpool footballer who died in a car accident on Thursday, was displayed, and the crowd cheered and applauded the gesture.

As they broke into fan-favourite Champagne Supernova, their final song of the evening, the lead singer said: “Right you beautiful people, this is it.

“Nice one for putting up with us over the years, we know we’ve been difficult.

“Champagne Supernova, nice one.”

While the brothers shared no banter on stage throughout the gig, they very briefly high-fived and half-hugged each other’s shoulders after their closing track.

Oasis was supported by fellow 90s group Cast and former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft.

Cast, an indie rock band from Liverpool, also paid tribute to Diogo Jota, dedicating their top 10 hit Walkaway to the footballer.

Ashcroft said he was “proud to be here on this historic night”, before playing many of his biggest songs, finishing with Bittersweet Symphony.

Tens of thousands of fans descended on Cardiff ahead of the gig. The stadium is able to host a maximum of 74,500 people.

On Friday afternoon, every pub and bar along St Mary’s Street in the Welsh capital was filled with people waiting for the concert to start, with the majority wearing the Britpop band’s merchandise.

Fans Lachlan Weekes and Jayden Helm, who spent more than a day travelling from Sydney, Australia, to attend the concert, were among them.

Mr Weekes said: “We’ve been planning it forever. We always said that if they got back together, we’d be at that first show.”

Mr Helm said: “We’ve been lifelong fans – we’re 22 and 21, so haven’t really had a chance to see them before.

“We always said it was worth it to come, we wouldn’t miss it for the world. To take time off work to come over here, it’s more than worth it.”

Lawrence Evans, from just outside Swansea, said his “life changed” when he started listening to the band, as he then started to play music and write songs.

He said: “They were the band that made me realise how much guitar music meant to me.”

His son Jimmy said of the concert: “The fact that it’s in Wales is really special for us.

“It’s the first time I get to see Oasis, (my dad) he’s lost count, he’s seen them countless times.

“I’ve been waiting for this day all my life.”

Glenn Moss, an Oasis fan from Essex, who regularly gets mistaken for Liam Gallagher, said he started working as an impersonator before the band’s reunion, having previously been against the idea.

He said: “I get stopped all the time – as soon as I got here yesterday four people within five minutes stopped me asking if I was him or for a photo.”

The reunion announcement came 15 years after Noel quit the Manchester band, saying he “simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer”, after a backstage brawl at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris.

Oasis will visit Manchester’s Heaton Park, London’s Wembley Stadium, Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium and Dublin’s Croke Park throughout July, August and September.

The group will then head to Japan, South Korea, South America, Australia and North America.

A movie, produced by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, is being made in conjunction with the reunion tour.

The band was led by lead guitarist Noel and his brother, lead vocalist Liam, during their 18 years together.

Oasis signed to independent record label Creation Records in 1993, rising to fame with the release of their debut chart-topping album Definitely Maybe on August 29 1994.

Speaking after the concert, Steve from Hertfordshire, said the band were “F****** wicked”, describing them as “the best band ever”.

Steve said he went to see them in 2006 and they had lived up to his expectations, but admitted to having had quite a few beers before the show.

Asked for his favourite part, he said: “The beginning, the middle, and also the end.

“All of it was fantastic, we had a really good time, we’ve come all the way from Hertfordshire to see them in Wales.”

Morgan, 20, from Wales, said: “It made my life, honestly, I could get hit by a car and die, and I’d have a smile on my face.”

Morgan described himself as an Oasis fan from birth, with his father encouraging him to get into them.

“It was unreal, being in that stadium, I’m still shaking, being here tonight is something else.”

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