Liam Gallagher has announced a huge show at Knebworth – a return to the site of his history-making gigs with Oasis back in 1996.
The Knebworth Park performance in Hertfordshire in June 2022 will be the biggest of Gallagher‘s solo career to date, just as the famous concerts were for Oasiswhen they played to 250,000 people over two nights 25 years ago.
“I’m absolutely buzzing to announce that on 4 June 2022 I’ll be playing Knebworth Park,” the singer said in a statement sent to Sky News, signing off in the style of his typical Twitter posts, “It’s gonna be biblical. C’mon You Know. LG x”.
The gig will follow the release of Gallagher’s third solo studio album C’MON YOU KNOW in May 2022, for which he is hoping to score a fourth consecutive number one – after topping the charts with his first two, As You Were and Why Me? Why Not, and a live album released in 2020.
August 2021 marked the 25th anniversary of Oasis’ famous Knebworth gigs, and fans have been reliving their memories following the release of the Oasis Knebworth 1996 documentary earlier in September.
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More than 250,000 people descended on Knebworth Park to watch the huge shows, which took place 10 months after the release of the band’s second album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? as they were at the height of their fame. Just two years on from putting out their debut record, Definitely Maybe, Liam and his brother Noel had taken Oasis from a council estate in Manchester to becoming one of the biggest bands in the world.
The new documentary features fan accounts of what it was like to be in the audience for the band’s most famous shows, as well as unseen archive footage from the gigs and backstage.
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“Everyone wanted to be there,” director Jake Scott told Sky News ahead of its release. “It was already famous before it happened, the biggest rock concert on British soil in history.”
The programme also highlights the relationship between Noel and Liam at the time, before things turned acrimonious. In the film, Noel compliments his brother, saying: “You’re only as good as your frontman, any band, and if that is Oasis at its peak – which it is – it’s because Liam’s at his peak.”
Can he match it as a solo artist a quarter of a century later?
Image: Some 250,000 fans attended the 1996 gigs over two days
Gallagher has been performing as a solo artist for the last few years, after first fronting his band Beady Eye following Oasis’ split in 2009.
His Knebworth announcement follows headline sets at Reading and Leeds Festival and TRNSMT over the summer, alongside a free gig for NHS staff at the O2.
Kasabian, Michael Kiwanuka, Goat Girl and Fat White Family will play the support slots.
Tickets for the Knebworth gig go on general sale on Friday 8 October through Live Nation.
A huge fire has destroyed the main stage of a major festival in Belgium – two days before it was due to begin.
Tomorrowland is a dance music event as big as Glastonbury – and David Guetta was due to perform.
Footage showed flames and thick plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage and spreading to nearby woodland on Wednesday.
Image: The fire gutted the main stage
Image: Fire crews attempt to bring the blaze under control
The annual festival in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, is one of the biggest in Europe and attracts about 400,000 people over two consecutive weekends.
It is famous for its immersive and elaborate designs and attracts big names within dance music – including Guetta, best known for tracks When Love Takes Over and Titanium.
Dutch DJs Martin Garrix and Charlotte de Witte were also due to perform, along with the likes of Swedish House Mafia, Eric Prydz and Alok.
Image: Black smoke could be seen rising into the sky
The festival’s website described the creative elements which went into the elaborate main stage.
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The theme, described as Orbyz, was “set in a magical universe made entirely out of ice” and “full of mythical creatures”.
Organisers said no one was injured in the blaze but confirmed “our beloved main stage has been severely damaged”, adding they were “devastated”.
Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen added: “We received some truly terrible news today. A fire broke out on the Tomorrowland site … and our main stage was essentially destroyed there, which is truly awful.
“That’s a stage that took years to build, with so much love and passion. So I think a lot of people are devastated.”
Image: Spokesperson Debby Wilmsen told reporters ‘a lot of people are devastated’
Despite the fire, Tomorrowland organisers said they were still expecting 38,000 festivalgoers at DreamVille, the event’s campsite.
An American Idol TV executive and her husband have been found dead in their LA home.
Robin Kaye was a music supervisor on the long-running reality TV series.
The bodies of the 70-year-old and her husband Thomas were discovered after officers conducted a welfare check at their home.
Both had died from gunshot wounds.
Image: Robin Kaye and her husband Thomas. Pic: Facebook
Detectives say Raymond Boodarian has been arrested in connection with their deaths.
It is alleged the 22-year-old had burgled their property while they were away on 10 July – killing the couple upon their return.
According to Los Angeles Police, there were “no signs of forced entry or trouble” at the property.
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Ms Kaye was an industry veteran – and had previously worked on shows including Lip Sync Battle and The Singing Bee, as well as several Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants.
In a statement, an American Idol spokesperson said: “Robin has been a cornerstone of the Idol family since 2009 and was truly loved and respected by all who came in contact with her.
“Robin will remain in our hearts forever and we share our deepest sympathy with her family and friends during this difficult time.”
Huge steel fences have been erected to prevent ticketless fans from watching the Oasis reunion tour in Manchester.
Liam and Noel Gallagher will resume their sold-out run of shows – their first since 2009 – with a performance at Heaton Park tonight, and two more on Saturday and Sunday.
While tens of thousands bought tickets for Oasis’sfirst two shows last weekend, crowds gathered to glimpse the large screens above the stage in the distance – in an area dubbed “Gallagher Hill” by some on social media.
Image: People walk past a temporary security fence erected ahead of concerts by Oasis in Heaton Park on 1 July. Reuters file pic
Manchester City Council has now said more steel fences have been erected around parts of the park to prevent ticketless fans from watching the gigs, and to protect nature in the park.
“After taking stock of how the first two nights went, additional measures have now been deemed necessary and will be in place for the next three concerts,” it said.
“The erection of the fencing has a dual purpose – both to protect the environment from further damage and to dissuade people from gathering there.
“The necessary measure means the concert will no longer be visible from this area.”
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Friday: Excited fans at Oasis homecoming gig
The fences will cover a large area of the hill within the park’s cattle field, which is being developed as a new woodland area with around 300 young trees planted.
The council added that there would be no facilities for people without a ticket, and said the event area is “double-walled with solid high security fencing all the way round”.
More than 2,000 event security staff and police officers will also be on duty around the site “to ensure both the safety and wellbeing of ticket-holders and that only those who have tickets access the concert”, it said.
John Hacking, the council’s executive member for employment, skills and leisure, also said in a statement that “unfortunately our hand has been forced in having to put these additional measures in place”.
He added: “Our advice to music fans who don’t have tickets for the concerts is to head into the city centre instead.
“The whole city is going all out to celebrate and help everyone have a good time.
“We’ve got some fantastic things going on with a real party atmosphere for everyone to enjoy, whether they’ve got tickets for the Oasis gigs or not.”