‘Oasis are like a religion to us’
Fans gather at Heaton Park as Oasis perform their forth show in Manchester(Image: Ryan Jenkinson | Manchester Evening News)
There’s perhaps nothing more Mancunian than a sea of bucket hats and ponchos drenched and queuing up quite acceptingly in the rain for a £40 T-shirt. But that’s how Saturday started for the close to 80,000 fans heading to Heaton Park for Oasis’ fourth show in the city.
With the rain proving a reality and storms threatening to lash out later in the day, it was a wet start to proceedings but fans seemed to take it in their stride as come rain or shine, they were on the cusp of seeing the legendary Britpop band in action.
“The weather doesn’t matter to me,” fan Amy, who had travelled from Birmingham, told the Manchester Evening News outside Stevenson Square in the Northern Quarter ahead of the gig.
“We’ve been out since about 10.30am, and we’ve made a day out of it. It’s the first time seeing Oasis, and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment so we’re making the most out of it. The atmosphere is great.”
Meanwhile, fans Christian, Sara and Marta have travelled up from Madrid specifically to see Oasis in Manchester.
“It feels like a dream,” Sara said.
”We wanted to see Oasis in Manchester because they are from here,” Marta added. “We’re going to take in all the vibes and just enjoy every moment – it’s just so special.”
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Oasis fans gathered at Gallagher Hill for their fourth Manchester show
Ahead of the show, fans heading to the concert were warned that due to the rain, the concert grounds would be wet – advising that fans wore ‘suitable footwear and bring waterproofs’, but umbrellas were banned.
But also undeterred by the weather are siblings Luiz Moura and Liv Brandão, who are visiting from Brazil. Whilst they won’t be seeing Oasis until tomorrow night, they are spending the evening at the Definitely Maybe bar in the Northern Quarter, which is the UK’s only Oasis-themed bar.
“It was a dream of mine to see Oasis in Manchester,” Luiz said. “And to be able to see it with my little sister is special too.”
Liv added: “It will be our first time seeing Oasis together and they’ve been a big part of our lives.”
Christian, Sara and Marta have travelled from Madrid specifically to see Oasis in Manchester
“Oasis is like a religion to us,” Luiz explained. It’s part of our lives. We grew up on them. They changed everything for me. They made me realise that anyone can be in a band, Oasis showed me that rock and roll can be made from anywhere.”
Liv said: “My mum used to listen to Don’t Look Back In Anger when Luiz left to study, so that and Live Forever are the songs of our lives.”
Speaking about Definitely Maybe, she added: “We are here to soak up the vibes, there is a great spirit here.”
Siblings Luiz Moura and Liv Brandão are visiting Manchester from Brazil to see Oasis this weekend
As Cast and Richard Ashcroft began performing their support slots to the crowd inside Heaton Park, there were also a big audience outside of the venue once again – this time with reports of ‘easily a couple of thousand’ people taking to the area once known as Gallagher Hill.
Despite being fenced off and fans being advised not to attend if they do not have a ticket, it was hailed as being the busiest its ever been tonight.
Beccy Dures and Bella Dures-Varle at Gallagher Hill
For some, even the prospect of visiting Gallagher Hill is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For others, like Bella Dures-Verle, it’s not their first rodeo. Having visited last week, she returned this evening with her mum Beccy Dures.
Bella said: “I came last week. We saw there was a bit of commotion happening in Heaton Park. It’s just a really big deal for everyone. The Mancunian spirit is in this field.”
Sally Pye, who visited the Hill with her family, said: “Half of our family has tickets in there, but we didn’t get tickets. I think it’s nice, as long as everybody behaves what harm are they doing?”
The Pye family, with Sally (left), who gathered at Gallagher Hill
Whilst it may have been a wet start to proceedings, the mud and rain failed to dampen spirits as Liam and Noel took to the stage with Bonehead, Andy Bell, Gem Archer and Joey Waronker to play a mixture of anthemic number one hits, B-sides and fan favourites.
Tomorrow night, Oasis will play their last show in Manchester as part of their Live ’25 Tour. Following that, the band will perform five shows at Wembley Stadium in London between 25 July and August 3.
Following that, there will also be dates in Edinburgh and Dublin, before they head to North America, Asia and Australia.