More about: Liam Gallagher

The most important British band of the last thirty years, or Lennon and McCartney plagiarists who found themselves in the right place and at the right time? Whatever your thoughts on Oasis, their story remains nothing short of remarkable. Three years on from signing to a little-known independent label, they rocked up in rural Hertfordshire and played one of the biggest, most in-demand concerts in British history.

Twenty five years on, and the band’s lead singer still holds enough cultural resonance and popularity to go and do it again. Liam Gallagher at Knebworth may be an event soaked in nostalgia, but upon arriving at the festival’s vast one-stage site it’s hard not to be taken aback by the sheer enormity of this occasion. There are men and women, young and old, from the North and the South – all here because of their love of a band who, for many in attendance, weren’t even born when they released their first single.

Even the support acts feel like an extension of the main event. Paolo Nutini covers ‘Half The World Away’, while Kasabian’s lad-rock anthems come straight from the Oasis playbook. Both do a fine job of engaging the 80-000 strong crowd but neither will live long in the memory – tonight it’s all about the main event.

Dressed in the same white parka that he donned in 1996, it’s clear that Liam Gallagher is more than happy to embrace the nostalgia. An opening foray of Oasis classics ‘Hello’, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ and ‘Morning Glory’ are rapturously received. Within half an hour, strangers are embracing each other like old friends with flares being set off every time a new song comes in.

Naturally there is a slight lull when Liam brings out some of his solo material – but the likes of ‘Wall of Glass’, ‘Once’ and the particularly well-received new single ‘Everything’s Electric’ prove that tonight’s show is not all about Oasis. Elsewhere there’s a welcome reworking of forgotten gem ‘Roll It Over’ and an outing for celebrated album track ‘Slide Away’ to appease some of the purists.

A predictable closing salvo of ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Live Forever’ leads the mass sing-a-long, before Stone Roses guitarist John Squire joins the band on stage for a show-stopping rendition of ‘Champagne Supernova’.

Returning to the site of perhaps his greatest victory, Liam Gallagher proves tonight that the legacy of Oasis firmly in-tact – and that as a solo artist, he’s still got plenty more to give.

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More about: Liam Gallagher