Liam Gallagher has teased an “interesting situation” in regards to rumours of an Oasis reunion at his Leeds Festival performance, while also dedicating a song to festivalgoers who braved the tumultuous weather on site.
During his 10.05pm performance on the main stage on Friday (August 23), Gallagher hinted at the rumours – which have been intensifying since he embarked on his ‘Definitely Maybe’ 30th anniversary tour this year, along with a recent Noel Gallagher interview that saw him soften his tone towards his brother.
Liam brought the Oasis anniversary tour setlist to the Leeds crowd, and just before starting ‘Half the World Away’, he said in-between long pauses: “It is very interesting init? It is a very interesting situation we’ve found ourselves in.”
YorkshireLive pointed out the significance of his statement before the song – being that it was led by Noel in the recording. During Liam’s Sheffield concert earlier this year, he also dedicated the song to Noel.
Elsewhere in his Leeds Festival set, Liam dedicated ‘Up in the Sky’ to festivalgoers whose tents “blew away” due to Storm Lilian, and ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’ to “all the people that failed their exams”. His chipper mood that night was also characteristically cheeky – by teasing ‘Wonderwall’ before launching into ‘(It’s Good) To Be Free’.
In June, Liam told the crowd at a ‘Definitely Maybe’ anniversary show that Noel was “still playing hard to get”.
Earlier this week, Noel was surprisingly admiring of Liam’s role in the band. “When I would sing a song it would sound good,” he said, “when he would sing it, it would sound great.”
The setlist for Liam Gallagher’s Leeds Festival 2024 set is (via Setlist.fm):
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‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’
‘Columbia’
‘Shakermaker’
‘Up in the Sky’
‘Digsy’s Dinner’
‘Bring It On Down’
‘Half the World Away’
‘D’Yer Wanna Be a Spaceman?’
‘Fade Away’
‘(It’s Good) To Be Free’
‘Whatever’
‘Cigarettes & Alcohol‘
‘Married With Children’
‘Supersonic’
‘Slide Away’
‘Live Forever’
‘I Am the Walrus (The Beatles cover)’
The High Flying Birds frontman has been open to reminiscing about the events leading up to their debut album.
“It was only through Liam [Gallagher] getting together with Bonehead that they asked me, that I joined – and when I joined, ambition took over,” he said of his start in Oasis. “In fact, it was only, I think, the second rehearsal with Oasis our kid said, ‘Yeah, you’ve got some tunes.’
Earlier this week, Liam Gallagher gifted the giant globe from his 30th anniversary ‘Definitely Maybe’ tour to an installation at the Co-op Live in Manchester.
Reading & Leeds Festivals 2024 kicked off yesterday (August 23) at their usual sites of Richfield Avenue (Reading) and Bramham Park (Leeds) – see here for how you can follow along at home on BBC iPlayer and elsewhere if you were not able to secure a ticket.
Alongside Gallagher, the festival boasts Fred Again.., Lana Del Rey, Catfish And The Bottlemen, Blink-182 and Gerry Cinnamon as its six headliners this year.
Raye, Spiritbox, Fontaines D.C., Reneé Rapp, Pendulum, Denzel Curry, Kenny Beats, Nia Archives, Two Door Cinema Club, Neck Deep, Rachel Chinouriri, Hak Baker, The Last Dinner Party and more are also expected to play.
Check back at NME here for the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos and more from Reading and Leeds 2024.