“Who goes back to the scene of one of their biggest ever gigs – effectively in the prime of their prior band’s career – and replicates it on their own terms as a solo artist well over a quarter of a century later?
“Obviously, the answer is that only Liam Gallagher would have the audacity and the swagger to do so.”
Image: Liam on stage at Knebworth in August 1996
It’s that very swagger that has inspired filmmaker Toby L, to document the 50-year-old rock star’s return to the site of his former glory in his new film, Liam Gallagher: Knebworth 22.
No stranger to working with stars, Toby has previously made documentaries about performers including Rihanna, Olivia Rodrigo, and band Bastille. But he’s not fazed by big egos.
The filmmaker tells Sky News: “There’s that whole notion of ‘don’t meet your idols’. I’d say, ‘No, meet your idols and try to make a documentary with them’.”
The filmmaking process had its challenges – hitting the headlines last month after Liam branded his brother Noel “an angry squirt” for reportedly refusing to allow the film to use any Oasis songs.
The director says he actually felt “relieved” the Oasis bangers were off the table, and instead of “looking back” will reveal the more “delicate” side of a star better known for his confrontational attitude, hard-partying ways and outspoken views.
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Some might say, it’s exactly those characteristics that compelled Liam to return to the site of his former glory in the first place, and then nail it. But first, some history.
Image: The band fool around in Knebworth Park ahead of their concerts
John Major was prime minister, Spice Girls were about to claim UK number one with their debut single Wannabe and Germany would soon beat England on penalties, going on to win Euro 1996.
‘Biblical’
Twenty-six years later, in June 2022, following the release of his third solo album, C’mon You Know, Liam performed to 170,000 fans at the Hertfordshire stately home, across two nights – which were again, completely sold-out.
At the time his 2022 gig was announced, Liam called it “beyond biblical,” adding, “let’s do it again in another 26 years”.
And his fans were up for it, as one says in the film: “It’s like destiny, it’s like travelling to Mecca. It’s a pilgrimage, we don’t have a choice, it’s something we have to do. We’ll be there with our parkas on and the stupid haircuts. We’ll be going for it, we’ll be ready.”
Speaking in the documentary, Liam says: “I didn’t think we’d ever get back to do Knebworth again, I didn’t think we’d ever do f****** arenas… [We] may have skirted about theatres.. up to some point when I’d have said this isn’t f****** good enough. I don’t know what I would have done. I’d have probably just knocked it on the head and vanished off. I don’t know man, when you’ve been big, you want to kind of stay biggish don’t you?”
Image: Liam and Paul Arthurs on a golf buggy in Knebworth in ’96
And there’s a brief moment of early concern in the film over whether Liam’s voice is up to it, and whether it will carry across the 250-acre site.
Of course, Liam – as one would expect from a man whose Twitter bio includes the words “Godlike”, “Celestial” and “Majestical” – feels no performance anxiety, saying in the run up to the shows: “Before anyone asks me am I nervous. No, not one f****** bit. I just want to get on, and get stuck into the tunes man”.
It’s no spoiler to say the sell-out gigs were a huge success. And that success has to be credited to the charismatic performer at the heart of the show.
The wild man of rock
So, what can we expect to learn about the younger of the Oasis siblings in this latest film about his life and work?
The director says we’re in for some surprises: “He’s the wild animal Liam, he’s the rock and roll Liam and he’s the very sweary Liam… But I feel like we see another side of his personality in this.
“I’d be loath to say softer, because that would be maybe a bit too sort of mild, but definitely a delicacy… and just a super sharp wit and articulate view on the world.”
Image: In his heyday Liam was the wild man of rock
A little later, Toby adds: “I think we see all of the razor-sharp rock and roll edge that you want. And also, I think we have a more philosophical side from him as well”.
He describes Liam as “constantly entertaining,” admitting that during filming, “I had to literally bend my head back to laugh into the ether, so the boom mike didn’t pick up my laughter”.
He goes on: “We all know he’s hilarious but being in the same room or field as him as he makes some of those comments is just definitely a real highlight of my work thus far.”
The elephant in the room
The film hooks up with Liam a week before the Knebworth gig over the Platinum Jubilee weekend, taking him back to the site of his former glory and watching him prepare, but this time without his brother Noel by his side.
And of course, the fact that Noel is not part of the Knebworth re-do is something neither Liam, nor the director, can ignore.
Image: Liam and Noel at Knebworth in 1996. Pic: Times Newspapers/Shutterstock
Toby explains: “The elephant in the room is brought up straight away in the first five minutes of the film and you see the way in which Liam deals with it, in a really graceful fashion that’s non-defamatory but is also totally honest.”
In the opening scenes of the documentary, descending from the skies like a god – albeit in a helicopter rather than on a beam of light – Liam says: “I would have never of thought of doing it, because it’s f****** huge and all that. But the fans want it, they wanted it with Oasis, [Noel] obviously doesn’t want to do it, so, they’ll just have to do it with me, and I’ll f****** do it, it’s going to be amazing.”
And of course, there was the drama over the music rights for the film too.
I felt ‘relieved’
Just last month Liam branded Noel “an angry squirt” and a “horrible little man”, claiming he had “blocked” the documentary from using Oasis songs.
Image: 2019 documentary Liam Gallagher: As It Was
But far from being perturbed by the apparent snub, the director says that while he understands some fans were initially disappointed by the news, he actually felt “relieved” when he discovered he couldn’t use the band’s music and believes it’s a better film without the Oasis tracks (half of Liam’s Knebworth 22 set were Oasis numbers).
He explains: “I was struggling to find a way, while were building such personal stories around Liam, how we were going to put the Oasis music in, in a way that felt contextually sound and also in the context of the fact that there was another Oasis Netflix documentary only a year or two ago [Liam Gallagher: As It Was]…
“It’s a bold thing to say, but I didn’t miss those massive, amazing songs. It felt like this film works in its own complete form, and I was just really relieved because I felt like if we were looking back too much, it wouldn’t have been as contemporary a story as it needs to be in order to differentiate itself to the prior documentary.”
While not repeating the themes explored in Charlie Lightening and Gavin Fitzgerald’s 2019 film, Liam Gallagher: As It Was, Toby says his documentary goes on to “highlight again in a new up to date way that transition point between what do you do after peaking in the biggest band of the time and then try to find your own solo voice and growing up in public”.
Taking Liam from his wilderness years post Oasis’s 2009 split, the director says it describes the star as “he got healthy and he started looking after himself and he started treating himself in a sort of athlete capacity”.
Image: Liam at Knebworth 2022. Pic: James Merchant
For Liam, looking back in the documentary on his heyday in the nineties, he’s of the opinion: “The music was good, there were loads of bands in the 90s that were great, obviously there were s*** ones as well.”
As for the style of the time, Liam says: “The fashion I don’t think was amazing, but it was decent, I think it went with the music.”
Back to the ’90s
The director – who at 37 experienced the tail end of the Britpop years first hand – has a deeper analysis on a time which defined an era to people now in their late 30s early 40s, when Margaret Thatcher was out, Tony Blair’s Britain was ahead, and there was promise in the air.
“It’s hard to think of a time recently where music was so at the forefront of the cultural conversation or the political conversation. That mid-nineties period, which we also talk about in the film, that whole era and the power of music and how it interlaces with the social fiscal climate at the time that music occurs in. Oasis were just brilliantly unavoidable and everyone had an opinion.”
Image: Oasis members (L-R) Alan White, Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs, Liam Gallagher, Noel Gallagher and Paul Guigsy McGuigan in 1996
He describes the band as “the underdogs,” going on, “they didn’t come from privilege. They didn’t come with industry connections. They just had some phenomenal songs and an amazing stage presence.
“And I think that that’s an aspirational story to this day, and I think anyone that aspires to do something great with their lives, just remember that story. Anything can happen if you put the time and the work into it.”
So why is Liam going back to play Knebworth such a big deal?
Toby says the answer to that is that it’s something the world needed, more than we could have possibly imagined.
“We’ve all needed it. You know, the last few years have been so tough in the world and the idea of a big single is concert where we all come together and celebrate as one being, that’s what the film explores, the power of live music against adversity.”
It’s something the fans seem to appreciate, without question. And in this documentary, they are front and centre, rather than a footnote to the event.
All about the fans
Toby says: “From the very outset, we explained to [Liam] how we wanted the film to be. We wanted it to be his story going back to Knebworth for the first time in 26 years. But we also wanted to reflect some of the 170,000 fans going across the two days.”
Thousands sent in video submissions to be part of the film, with just eight making it into the final cut.
Image: The Knebworth crowd 2022. Pic: James Merchant
They include seven-year-old Audrina from Derby – now in remission from neuroblastoma, a rare type of cancer that mostly affects babies and young children – who says of her hero: “I think he’s cool, he’s always stayed true to himself, he’s never been bothered what the other people think about him”.
And superfan Simon Heptinstall, 42, from Halifax, who has a garden shed bar called Champagne Supernobar and owns every Oasis CD and vinyl record, as well as every album, Liam has released as a solo artist. He’s of the opinion that: “It’s a way of life really, Oasis and Liam. It’s an attitude, it’s who you are as a person”.
Plus, celebrity fan, Kasabian frontman Serge Pizzorno, makes an appearance in the documentary too, calling Liam “the epitome of rock and roll,” adding, “and rock and roll never dies”.
The director says Liam was a driving force in putting his fans at the heart of the film: “He was just totally in, and he was so excited about the idea that we were going to be focusing on his audience as much as him in this film… More so than anything else in the industry, that’s all he cares about, the people.”
Rather entertainingly, when asked in the documentary where he would position himself in the crowd if he was a fan, Liam is characteristically honest, replying: “Oh, I’d be at the f****** bar getting w******”.
So what will Liam think?
But while there’ll be a legion of fans queuing to see their hero on the big screen as the documentary hits the cinemas, Liam himself is yet to see the film. Toby explains, “he’s got reasons for wanting the right moment to watch it”.
Although rock and roll stars can be notoriously protective of their public persona, it seems Liam has no desire to micromanage his own documentary.
The director goes on: “With Liam, it’s the other extreme, which I think is every documentary makers’ dream / biggest fear, [which] is you’re going to make it, and then they’ll watch at some point and then you’ll get your feedback down the line.” He pauses, “I’m excited for when he does watch it…”
Will Oasis ever get back together?
As for whether Oasis will ever get back together, the director is philosophical: “[Liam’s] made his case pretty open, which is he’s open minded. And I think it’s Noel who understandably is like, ‘Hey, we’ve got a great legacy’. Who knows what will happen?”
It’s the question every Oasis fan would love to know, and the one the Gallagher brother’s have become adept at batting away at every single interview since their split.
Image: Oasis parted ways in 2009, but will they ever reunite?
Things of course came to a head for the band 18 years ago, back in 2009, minutes before a headline show in Paris. There were rumours of a physical altercation involving a guitar.
Earlier this year, Liam said the band “should never have split up” and he would “love” Oasis to get back together.
And, just last month, Noel said in an interview there was “no point” in an Oasis reunion as the band sell “as many records now” as they did when they were together.
In the same interview, in a nod to the subject at the heart of this very documentary, Noel added: “If we got back together, it would be a circus and there’s no point. Just leave it as it is. I’m happy, [Liam’s] doing his thing, he’s f***ing selling out Knebworth, it’s like, ‘Mate, good luck to you’.”
So, the jury is still out, for now at least.
But fans still have some hope to cling on to, as Toby concludes: “I’ve learnt that life is a weird thing and sometimes the things that seem the least likely do sometimes happen… If they did decide to do it one day, I just can’t imagine how gargantuan that event would be.”
Sky News has contacted both Liam and Noel Gallagher’s representatives for comment.
Liam Gallagher: Knebworth 22 is in cinemas worldwide from Thursday 17 November.
A man who stalked Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas for six years has avoided jail.
Kyle Shaw, 37, got a 20-month suspended sentence and a lifetime restraining order on contacting Ballas, her mother, niece, and former partner.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that he thought Ballas was his aunt and “began a persistent campaign of contact”.
“He believed, and it’s evident from what he was told by his mother, that her late brother was his father,” said prosecutor Nicola Daley.
The court heard there was no evidence he was wrong, and “limited evidence” he was correct.
Ms Daley said Shaw’s messages had accused Ballas of being to blame for the death of her brother, who took his own life in 2003 aged 44.
He also set up social media accounts in his name.
Shaw had pleaded guilty to stalking the former dancer between August 2017 and November 2023 at a hearing in February.
Incidents included following Ballas’s 86-year-old mother, Audrey Rich, while she was shopping and telling her she was his grandmother.
The court heard in messages to Mrs Rich, Shaw had asked: “Where’s my dad?”
Ballas was so worried for her mother’s safety that she moved her from Merseyside to London.
Image: Kyle Shaw outside court on the day of his sentencing. Pic: PA
In October 2020, Ballas called police after Shaw messaged her and said: “Do you want me to kill myself, Shirley?”
Posts on X included one alongside an image of her home address that warned: “You ruined my life, I’ll ruin yours and everyone’s around you.”
Another referenced a book signing and said: “I can’t wait to meet you for the first time Aunty Shirley. Hopefully I can get an autograph.”
The court was told Ballas’s niece Mary Assall, former partner Daniel Taylor and colleagues from Strictly Come Dancing and ITV’s Loose Women were also sent messages.
‘I know where you live’
On one occasion in late 2023, Shaw called Mr Taylor and told him he knew where the couple lived and described Ballas’s movements.
The court heard the 64-year-old TV star become wary of socialising and stopped using public transport.
Prosecutor Ms Daley said: “She described having sleepless nights worrying about herself and her family’s safety and being particularly distressed when suggestions were made to her that she and her mother were responsible for her brother taking his own life.”
Image: Ballas has been head judge on Strictly Come Dancing since 2017. Pic: PA
Shaw cried and wiped away tears as he was sentenced on Tuesday.
The judge said the stalking stemmed from his mother telling him Ballas’s brother, David Rich, was his biological father.
“I’m satisfied that your motive for this offending was a desire to seek contact with people you genuinely believed were your family,” he said.
“Whether in fact there’s any truth in that belief is difficult, if not impossible, to determine.”
Image: Shaw pictured at court in February. Pic: PA
Defence lawyer John Weate said Shaw had been told the story by his mother “in his mid to late teens” and had suffered “complex mental health issues” since he was a child.
He added: “He now accepts that Miss Ballas and her family don’t wish to have any contact with him and, importantly, he volunteered the information that he has no intention of contacting them again.”
Shaw, of Whetstone Lane in Birkenhead, also admitted possessing cannabis and was ordered to undertake a rehab programme.
Gary Glitter has been made bankrupt after failing to pay more than £500,000 in damages to a woman he abused when she was 12 years old.
She sued the disgraced singer, whose real name is Paul Gadd, after he was found guilty of attacking her and two other schoolgirls between 1975 and 1980.
Glitter, 80, was jailed for 16 years in 2015 and released in 2023 but was recalled to prison less than six weeks later after breaching his parole conditions.
A judge awarded the woman £508,800, including £381,000 in lost earnings and £7,800 for future therapy and treatment, saying she was subjected to abuse “of the most serious kind”.
The court heard she had not worked for decades due to the trauma of being repeatedly raped and “humiliated” by the singer.
Image: Glitter was jailed for 16 years in 2015. Pic: Met Police/PA
Glitter was made bankrupt last month at the County Court at Torquay and Newton Abbot, in Devon – the county where he is reportedly serving his sentence in Channings Wood prison, in Newton Abbot.
Richard Scorer, head of abuse law at Slater and Gordon, the law firm representing the woman, said: “We confirm that Gadd has been made bankrupt following our client’s application.
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“As he has done throughout, Gadd has refused to cooperate with the process and continues to treat his victims with contempt.
“We hope and trust that the parole board will take his behaviour into account in any future parole applications, as it clearly demonstrates that he has never changed, shows no remorse and remains a serious risk to the public.”
Glitter was first jailed for four months in 1999 after he admitted possessing around 4,000 indecent images of children.
He was expelled from Cambodia in 2002, and in March 2006 was convicted of sexually abusing two girls, aged 10 and 11, in Vietnam where he spent two-and-a-half years in prison.
His sentence for the 2016 convictions expires in February 2031.
Glitter was automatically released from HMP The Verne, a low-security prison in Portland, Dorset, in February 2023 after serving half of his fixed-term determinate sentence.
But he was back behind bars weeks later after reportedly trying to access the dark web and images of children.
Paul Mescal and Barry Keoghan will play Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr in the upcoming Beatles films – with a Stranger Things star also portraying one of the Fab Four.
The two Irish actors will be joined by London-born performers Harris Dickinson as John Lennon, and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.
The cast for the Sam Mendes project was revealed at the CinemaCon event in Las Vegas, with all four appearing on stage and taking a bow together in Beatles style.
Image: (L-R) Mescal, Quinn, Keoghan and Dickinson appeared together at the announcement. Pic: Reuters
Mendes is making four interconnected films – one from the perspective of each of the band members – and they are all set to be released “in proximity” to each other in April 2028.
It marks the first time The Beatles and the families of John Lennon and George Harrison have granted full life story and music rights for a scripted film.
Playing McCartney is another big role for 29-year-old Mescal, who recently starred in the Gladiator sequel and was nominated for an Oscar in 2023 for Aftersun.
Barry Keoghan – who also got an Oscar nod for The Banshees of Inisherin – will portray the other surviving Beatles member, Ringo Starr.
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Image: Pic: PA
Meanwhile, Stranger Things star Joseph Quinn, who appeared with long hair as Eddie Munson in the fourth series, takes up the role of George Harrison.
Harris Dickinson has the challenge of stepping into the shoes of perhaps the most famous Beatle, John Lennon.
The 28-year-old recently starred in erotic thriller Babygirl with Nicole Kidman and also appeared in satire Triangle of Sadness.
Mendes told the industry audience at CinemaCon there is “still plenty to explore” despite the Beatles’ rise having being well chronicled.