Oasis, Heaton Park, Manchester 04/06/09
Controversy has followed Oasis throughout its 18-year history, but last night's problems in front of around 70,000 fans were not of the superband's own making.
The Manchester group had hoped for a glorious return to their home city in the first of three concerts at Heaton Park, the others being tomorrow and Sunday.
However, a faulty generator forced them off stage during their first and second songs 10 minutes apart and threatened to turn the opening night into a disaster.
But a successful repair job after a half-hour wait, and the promise of a refund from the Burnage-born Gallagher brothers Liam and Noel, appeased the crowd who eventually got an uninterrupted 90 minutes of music as they defied the scheduled 11pm deadline.
There had already been problems before the opening-night gig when support group The Enemy were forced to pull out due to illness. Reverend and The Makers took their place alongside Twisted Wheel and Kasabian.
The Manchester City supporting-Gallaghers have had a volatile relationship over the years – but the brothers were clearly united in their determination to give the fans a fair deal.
And with power fully restored, the band blasted out their Britpop and rock anthems in typically-flamboyant fashion.
The last time Heaton Park had hosted a huge number of people was back in 1982 when 200,000 went to see Pope John Paul II during his visit to the UK.
Liam told the crowd before Morning Glory that he had been to see the Pope, adding: "He was all right but he didn't have many songs, so this one is for him."
He must have been regretting his pre-concert pledge that Heaton Park would be better than the group's landmark shows at Knebworth in the mid 1990s.
And more than 20 songs later – including Live Forever, Wonderwall and Don't Look Back In Anger, recently voted the best three British songs of all-time – the band joked that they were regretting promising the crowd their money back.
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Weather for Preston
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Light sleet
Temperature: -3 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: South east
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