Oasis / Happy Mondays / Doves
London Wembley Stadium
4.30PM In four hours' time, one of the most remarkable rock'n'roll concerts ever to grace Wembley Stadium will begin. As significant Oasis shows go, this one will go down in history alongside the deal-clinching gig at Glasgow's King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, their first Glastonbury show and their triumphant Knebworth performance. It'll also be remembered among Oasis' most tawdry moments. For now though, everything is calm. Wembley Stadium is bathed in hazy sunshine, as the fans mill about calmly, unaware of the storm brewing backstage. 4.45PM Marco, from Italy, is a professional Liam Gallagher lookalike. He gets paid to turn up at London's various indie clubs to wow foreign students. He's come down to see today's show with his mate Phil, 19, from London, and we're all debating whether Oasis could carry on without Noel Gallagher. Many say that the Carling Weekend Festival at Leeds will be his last with the band. "Noel's lost it, man," reckons Marco. "The first album was all good, d'you know what I mean?" After these two, we meet 22-year-old Louise from Cheshire, an Oasis die-hard and, surreally, part-time Patsy Kensit lookalike. Should Liam carry on without Noel? "Not really. I can't imagine it without Noel. Liam's pulled it off on his own abroad, but everybody thinks it's not the same. They're still as good as they used to be. Liam's voice has got better." Steve Malone, from Moston, Manchester is a self-confessed "mad-for-it groupie" who tells us: "Stick together? They got to haven't they, really? For the fans' sake." 5.30PM While Doves are yet to inspire any nationwide haircut changes, they're certainly on the cusp of something massive. 'Catch The Sun' and 'Cedar Room' fill the stadium without even trying to. Despite only a third of the crowd knowing their songs, Doves play like it's their homecoming gig. 7.15PM As is tradition, Happy Mondays arrive 30 minutes late; anything else would be a disappointment. While cynics may deride the reformed Mondays as an ugly cash cow, it's hard to argue with such fantastic rock'n'roll theatre. Bez, Nuts and Rowetta do the grafting, while Shaun holds court. Hard to go wrong when you've got songs like 'Loose Fit' and 'Wrote For Luck'.  7.45PM The first hint of danger. Shaun Ryder is doing an Elvis impression during 'Step On' when Liam Gallagher runs on stage and starts to hug him. He looks 'merry'. Alan McGee will later reveal that the walk-on was totally unplanned. He was standing next to Liam when all of a sudden he started shouting: "He's doing Elvis! I've got to get on there!"
8.45PM Here we go... Just seconds after the 'Fuckin' In The Bushes' intro tape has finished, it becomes clear that Liam has been enjoying a drink or three. Unsteady of gait and strained of voice, he begins ranting about Live Aid, Bob Geldof and Wembley being a "shithole" before screaming, "I am a fucking rock star!" It's hard to make out his exact words, but let's just say the words "Patsy", "furniture", "solicitors" and "without a tea bag to my name" are quite prominent. As Wembley erupts in support for Liam's plight, his older brother interjects: "I'd just like to say peace and love to everybody here." 8.50PM Still ranting, Liam changes the lyrics to 'Who Feels Love?' to "I thank you for the sun/The one that shines on everyone who deals drugs/I love drugs". The look on Noel's face is a combination of suppressed fury and resignation. As the song finishes, Liam lays down on his back in front of Noel and pretends to masturbate. As we reach 'Acquiesce', the mood gets tenser still. Liam announces that he's not going to sing another song until he can see a female member of the audience's breasts projected onto the 50ft-high backdrop behind him. You don't get that at Travis gigs. 9.30PM Following an awe-inspiring 'Stand By Me', Liam launches into a speech about how everyone else in the band wants to "kick my arse". He stares Noel out, before nonchalantly tossing his tambourine in the air... only to drop it. "Anyway," shrugs Noel and plays the opening chords to 'Wonderwall'. They follow it with a ragged 'Cigarettes & Alcohol', 'Don't Look Back In Anger' and a heart-wrenching 'Live Forever'. 10.20PM In case we needed any more signs that things are not well within the Oasis camp, Liam is miming digging a grave and pointing at his brother while he plays the intro to 'Champagne Supernova'. Hmm. Five minutes later, Noel introduces 'Rock'N'Roll Star' only for Liam to introduce it again. "I just said that," says Noel, "Yeah, but I fucking meant it!" snarls Liam. 10.30PM The devastatingly heavy 'Rock'N'Roll Star' ends in torrents of feedback while Oasis leave the stage. Liam offers his hand to Noel but the older brother refuses it. Ever defiant, Liam remains on stage long after the rest of the band have gone, announcing he's not going to leave until everyone else has. Just in case his actions tonight weren't symbolic enough, Liam walks over to Noel's guitar and turns it on again. He stands alone, surrounded by the sound of his brother's guitar wailing. Liam obviously doesn't want this to end none of it. 11PM The Gallagher brothers have left the building, each going their separate ways. Andy Bell is at the aftershow, telling people it was one of Oasis' greatest ever shows while Alan McGee is overheard musing over the finality of it all. Whatever happened here tonight and who really knows? Oasis were magical. The world would be a darker place without them. Hopefully, they'll last until Reading and Leeds.
Andy Capper
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