John Sturgis

I was an Oasis fan. Then I grew up

The night I gave up on Britpop

  • From Spectator Life
Liam Gallagher, subjecting some French fans to his music (Getty)

On the evening of 10 August 1996, I found myself lost in the grounds of a stately home in Hertfordshire, and very, very drunk. Everywhere I turned, there were men, mostly young men in bucket hats. They were all raucously singing, and they too were very drunk. Everyone was drunk.

It always felt like the Gallagher brothers were performatively baiting each other for show, like two camp old wrestlers trying to hype a crowd

Almost 30 years on, the Oasis concert at Knebworth is, what those working in marketing like to call, legendary. There has already been a commemorative album and documentary film – and now an Oasis reunion will see millions of people attempt to spend tens of millions of pounds to be able to attend re-creations of Knebworth next summer. But my memory of Knebworth ’96 is that of a nightmare. For me, it was the night when the 1990s dream died.

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