That’s just about as good as it gets for a Manc; not to go over the top right from the off but Liam Gallagher’s first night at the Co-op Live arena is comfortably up there with one of the best gigs we’ve ever been to.
We could end the review right there and we’re sure you’d understand (we don’t think it needs explaining why seeing Definitely Maybe played live in full to a home crowd all these years later is so special) but we’re going to carry on anyway.
We also could spend time bigging up the supports and how great they were, which is entirely true – there’s also a lot of understandable excitement about Liam’s son Gene Gallagher and the opening warm-up act, Villanelle – but, honestly, we just want to relive last night.
First things first, it’s probably fair to start off by saying that regardless of the palava when it first opened or rather struggled to, Co-op Live is quite a sight to behold.
There are plenty of people who have taken aim at the ‘big black box’ now sitting right next to Manchester City’s stadium and the wider Etihad Campus, but once you see it in the evening, lit up with its digital hoardings and especially in the bowl itself, it’s pretty impressive, it has to be said.
Obviously, the location felt fitting for such a massive Blue and LG made sure to have his beloved football club represented on stage, however, it more just highlighted how this man could fill a room of pretty much any size.
As we waited for his arrival whilst the roadies rolled back the years (quite literally) and recreated the Definitely Maybe album cover for the set, you couldn’t help but be blown away by the scale of everything as roughly 23,5000 people poured in to celebrate Oasis‘ timeless debut album 30 years on.
People were jumping to rock classics and cheering a clock ticking backwards before the gig had even started. (Credit: The Manc Audio)
And that’s what it was: a pure celebration. From the moment he kicked the arena into gear with ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Star’, the place barely stopped bouncing except for the likes of ‘Whatever’ and ‘Half The World Away’, as they were too busy being a choir in those moments.
He even dedicated the latter to its original singer and his big brother Noel, as well as tackling the likes of ‘D’Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman?’ and ‘Lock All The Doors’, which the older Gallagher already dug out of the archives with High Flying Birds – though it was interesting to see how the two versions differed.
We will always be envious of those who were there at the very start; for the likes of the Knebworth and Maine Road gigs, as we can only imagine how nuts the atmosphere must have been at the very height of Britpop, but if this is the closest we ever come to recreating that we will absolutely take it.
Getting to hear those “cheeky” B-sides from that seminal record was a treat too, mainly because as was often the case with Oasis, they were just as popular as the official tracklist and not a single lyric was missed. Manchester hasn’t even come to moving past its best-ever band and probably never will.
Liam Gallagher celebrated everything we know and love about rock and roll on his first night at Co-op Live. (Credit: The MancGroup)
What made this gig even more staggering is that we’d just seen Foo Fighters light up the Emirates Old Trafford on Thursday and knew they were playing again at the same time we were all doing our best ‘sunshyiiiiiine’, but there wasn’t a single part of us wondering which was the better gig. Sorry, Dave.
Is the local bias taking a good chunk of the wheel here? Absolutely. Do we care one bit? Not even a little.
We’ve seen Liam play his own stuff and some old favourites before; we’ve seen Noel fill Wythenshawe Park and play as many Oasis tracks as he likes, but nothing comes close to seeing the album that started it all being played in Manchester at its newest and biggest venue.
Liam said that he wanted to “put this arena on the map” before he kicked into ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’ and he didn’t just do that, he blew the roof off the place. And that’s an expensive bloody roof…
Not exaggerating when we say Liam Gallagher at Co-op Live Night One felt like a cultural moment for Manchester. (Credit: The Manc)
What’s more, the 51-year-old proved two things: this is exactly why he’s one of the greatest frontmen of all time, even if his voice isn’t quite as crisp as it once was (it’s still one of the most distinct on the planet), and that Oasis are still the best thing since sliced bread. The bee’s knees. The absolute b*****ks.
We’re not going to start arguing over where they fit among the greatest of all time – we know even Liam Gallagher himself would say, ‘Don’t talk daft, it’s The Beatles’ and so on – but we’re not sure we’ll ever be able to describe just how much Oasis are intrinsically part of what makes Manchester what it is.
Banging on about a reunion year after year feels pretty useless as we know it would take some extraordinary circumstances for it to happen, but all we’ll say is that at this point Noel is just missing out on playing some of the best shows you could ever hope for.
That being said, watching Liam Gallagher give Co-op Live its biggest gig yet was a privilege and until they both kiss and makeup to give the fans what they want, we’re here for these nostalgic nights and you best believe we’ll be going to the (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? anniversary tour if it happens too.
Adidas drop Liam and Noel Gallagher SPZL trainers
Daisy Jackson
Liam and Noel Gallagher have teamed up with adidas once again to create their very own SPZL trainers.
The sportswear giant has today dropped the designs for the adidas LG Achille SPZL and the adidas NG Marathon SPZL.
The sure-to-sell-out trainers will officially hit shelves in the new Manchester adidas store, and other stockists, next weekend.
The footwear drop coincides with the ongoing Oasis reunion tour, which attracted hundreds of thousands of people to the city when they played five nights in Heaton Park.
Liam and Noel themselves have maintained a close relationship with Gary Aspden, curator of the adidas SPZL range, for more than two decades.
They’re often seen sporting the iconic trainers and creating product collaborations, and now they’re back with a new Three Stripes partnership and their very own new adidas SPZL trainers.
Up first is Liam Gallaghers’s adidas SPZL, with the Oasis frontman asking to bring back a revised version of an archival runner, the adidas Achille.
The LG Achille SPZL features a khaki mesh base, chocolate brown stripes, a beige suede T-toe overlay, and a sand outside, with a motif of Liam on the tongue of the shoe.
Noel Gallagher’s NG Marathon SPZLs are his first collaborations with the brand since his immediate sell-out shoes back in 2017.
His are a new hybrid inspired by the adidas Marathon 85 silhouette, keeping the suede upper and rubber outsole of the Marathon 85 but with a deep navy/sky blue palette with a reworked toe box and midsole, as well as details like the Eco-Tex tongue and tonal eyelets.
Both shoes feature a portrait of their namesakes on the tongue, as well as spare laces, co-branded sock liners, and commemorative packaging.
The adidas LG Achille SPZL and the adidas NG Marathon SPZL are set to launch via adidas SPZL stockists and the adidas Carnaby and MCR retail stores on 16 August.
Oasis are being linked with a massive outdoor gig next year
Danny Jones
After 16 long years of waiting, Oasis are officially the biggest band on the planet again (not that they ever really stopped), and now they’re being linked with a rather big outdoor gig at the storied Slane Castlenext year.
They’ve already done Knebworth, so why not tick another one off the list?
With the Live ’25 reunion tour well underway, and rumblings over what they’re going to do once this run of global comeback shows is done, Britpop fever hasn’t just had fans of the band reliving the 1990s – it’s practically taken over the music world.
There’s already plenty of talk circling – including a potential return to Knebworth – but now Oasis is pretty much the first and only name being tipped for a huge headline slot at Slane Castle, after 2026 dates were slated by the estate’s owners.
Slane Castle hosted natives, U2, for their Go Home live concert film back in 2002. (Credit: Sara Einarsson via WikiCommons)
While Harry Styles played Ireland’s historic and equally iconic venue back in 2023, the Co Meath concerts, located in the heart of the Boyne Valley, have somewhat dried up in recent years.
Prior to the former One Direction star, the last major musicians to play there were rock and heavy metal veterans, Metallica, more than half a decade ago.
However, the new lord of the manor, Alex Conyngham, is now looking to carry on where his father, Henry Mountcharles, left off in carrying on their live music legacy; and given that another legendary rock and roll band is pretty much anyone can talk about at the minute, their name has already been put forward.
As per the Drogheda Independent writer, John Kierans, Conyngham is reported to have said: “We want to bring the shows back, we miss them. It is not just about the revenue, but keeping the name of Slane as a rock venue on the map.
“It is what Slane Castle is known for, and I don’t want that legacy to fade away. This is one of the world’s great rock and roll venues with the most natural setting. We are working on plans, and hopefully we can pull something off for next year.”
While Oasis are due to play two nights at Croke Park in Dublin later this month, there is now a strong belief/expectation that a number of 2026 dates will also be announced. But will the stars align?
Slane Castle are said to be in negotiations to stage a massive concert in 2026.
Croke Park theoretically has a concert capacity of 82,000, but I'd love to see them at Slane Castle. Saw Oasis and REM there in 1995. It was epic. pic.twitter.com/CYf6VDDgPw
— 🟥 deli⁷ | just a person🥢ᶠᵘᵗᵘʳᵉ'ˢ ᵍᵒⁿⁿᵃ ᵇᵉ ᵒᵏᵃʸ (@na_do_saram) August 3, 2025
It’s also worth mentioning that they’ve played the 1,500-acre grounds before. Twice, in fact.
The first occasion was in July 1995, supporting R.E.M just before they hit arguably the height of their own powers with the release of their second album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? just a few months later, on 2 October.
Burnage‘s most famous sons and their bandmates go to do it all over again in 2009 (the same year they would eventually split up), with some incredible ‘warm-up acts’ in The Prodigy, Kasabian and Glasvegas.
Let’s be honest, either of those artists could probably book and sell out the place these days, so god knows how much a ticket for that lineup would set you back present day.
Regardless, if there’s one band that fits the billing to bring back the Slane Castle gigs at their boldest and best, it’s the almighty Oasis.
Whether or not the heavily rumoured 2026 dates are domestic to the UK and Ireland, we’ll have to wait and see, but the clamour is already there, no matter where they sign on to perform.
If you were at Heaton Park or had the fortune of seeing any of the Live ’25 shows, you’ll know they still sound as good as ever.