a day ago
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- The Herald Scotland
Review: Liam Gallagher vs the council as Oasis arrive in Edinburgh
Indeed, The Herald could not even get in for their first show in Scotland in 16 years on Friday night, and hell hath no fury like a hack inconvenienced.
Any such notions are blown away pretty much as soon as Oasis swagger on stage.
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Their entrance is preceded by a clip from Close Encounters of the Third Kind informing us "this is not a drill" and the instrumental walkout song is accompanied by various images of the brothers Gallagher and sentiments like "the great wait is over" and "Edinburgh - this is happening". This is an event, and by God they want you to know it.
Liam and Noel walk on arm in arm, the former offering by way of greeting: "Oasis vibes in the area! Edinburgh vibes in the area!" before the band kick into opener 'Hello', the denouement seeing both brothers affirm "it's good to be back".
From there it's into 'Acquiesce', which sees Liam take the verse and Noel the chorus, and a blistering run of songs to open the set.
The younger Gallagher remains the most compelling of frontmen, approaching his mic like he's not sure whether to sing into it or stick the nut on it.
His is a performance rooted in pure charisma, with little in the way of crowd interaction and less in the way of showmanship unless you count wearing a cagoule as the height of theatrics.
In terms of getting the audience involved he asks for the vast crowd to do the Poznań - turning backward, arms around the shoulders - for 'Cigarettes & Alcohol' and a bit of call and response involving City of Edinburgh Council.
The council were admonished by Gallagher Jr for some uncharitable comments about Oasis fans, and when they get a mention he encourages the Murrayfield crowd to boo louder.
"Two billion pounds we'll bring into this city and you lot will see none of it because they'll split it with their posh ugly mates," says the singer. "Still waiting for that apology."
He'd pegged the figure at £1bn on night one, suggesting the Liam Gallagher Inflation Counter would put the Weimar Republic to shame.
As a mass bounce to 'Roll With It' concludes a relentless opening to the show, Noel takes centre stage for the altogether more tender 'Talk Tonight' and 'Half the World Away' the latter of which is dedicated to the Royle Family - "not that one - Manchester royalty", he clarifies when the crowd boo.
Oasis perform Don't Look Back in Anger at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Saturday night
𝘝𝘐𝘋𝘌𝘖: 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 — The Herald (@heraldscotland) August 10, 2025
After an anthemic 'Little By Little' his brother returns for what's really the only misstep of the night, a run through 'D'You Know What I Mean?' from third album Be Here Now which, even in this setting, still sounds over-long and overblown.
So invested are this crowd though, that it doesn't spark a mass exodus for the bar.
Linking Oasis with football is hardly a novel insight - indeed there's a cardboard cut-out of Pep Guardiola on stage throughout - but there are occasions where you might almost wonder whether you're at a rock gig or a European night at San Siro.
The hits just keep coming. We get 'Slide Away', possibly the finest song Oasis ever recorded, and the string-led 'Whatever', a top three hit which bafflingly was barely played by the band after 1995.
The former appears to have been tuned down half a step but it's the only one. Liam's vocals, which have been notoriously hit and miss since at least the turn of the millennium, sounded clear, crisp and not a little menacing.
Fireworks greet the end of Champagne Supernova as Oasis perform in Edinburgh (Image: Newsquest) If those are big guns then it's a volley of surface-to-air missiles which brings it home.
'Live Forever', dedicated to "all the people who didn't make it through to see us get back together", and 'Rock n Roll Star' close out the main set before an encore featuring de facto national anthems 'Don't Look Back in Anger' and 'Wonderwall'.
The final song of the night, 'Champagne Supernova', is by its own author's admission completely nonsensical but as the guitars swell and the chorus soars Murrayfield is filling in its own meaning, a volley of fireworks capping off a thundering set.
There'll be no poison pen, then: the band sounds huge (Bonehead really is the unsung hero of the Oasis sound), Liam's voice is in good nick and the setlist is bulletproof.
Really the only heterodox opinion to reach for is that perhaps this valedictory tour around the world really should be the triumphant full stop Knebworth could have been.
On this kind of form, the only way is down.
