Liam Gallagher at the Royal Albert Hall
Liam Gallagher at the Royal Albert Hall
Liam Gallagher performed a mixture of solo hits and Oasis classics in an electrifying night at The Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust. By Adam Davidson
The concerts held in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust usually take place every year but due to the pandemic these are the first since 2019, which meant the charity has missed out on an estimated £2m.
Before Liam even took to the stage the excitement and anticipation was palpable, the concert had the atmosphere of a football match at times with the chants of his name echoing around the hall. When he took to the stage this anticipation turned to euphoria as everybody got up out of their seats to see the former Oasis frontman perform songs from his legendary 30 year career.
He opened up with the Oasis songs, ‘Hello’ and ‘Rock and Roll Star’ and that set the tone for the evening, it was raucous but always good natured. Addressing the fans, Liam said: “Some gaff this isn’t it! Do you ever get overwhelmed by being in such a beautiful place? You liars, no you don’t! You deserve to be in here man, this is our gaff isn’t it?”
He was right, for one night it became the ‘gaff’ of the adoring fans of the Britpop legend. The Royal Albert Hall, a venue famed for classical music was turned into a theatre of rock and roll with chants, mosh pits and lots of beer flying around.
Liam also performed a couple of tracks from his upcoming album, C’mon You Know, including Everything’s Electric and a live debut for the title track.
Every song was enjoyable but you could feel the atmosphere turn up a notch when Liam performed classic Oasis tracks including Supersonic, Stand By Me, Cast No Shadow and Slide Away.
The last song before the encore was a heartfelt tribute to Taylor Hawkins, the late-drummer of the Foo Fighters who had died the day before, with a rendition of Live Forever as a photo of Hawkins was projected on the big screen.
The best music venues have the power to enhance the experience of any concert and that was certainly the case for the encore, Wonderwall. When Liam left it to the audience to sing the chorus of the 1995 classic, the sound echoed around the hall and it was enough to give anyone goosebumps.
The swagger and showmanship of the Oasis legend throughout the performance encapsulates why he has been an enduring fixture in music and pop culture for the last 30 years and that doesn’t look like changing anytime soon!
Image: Charlie Lightening
