Oasis were the biggest band in the world when they released third album Be Here Now 25 years ago on August 21 1997.
The album was reissued today to mark its 25th anniversary although there was no repeat of the frenzied scenes which were sparked the first time around.
Back then you actually had to go to a record shop to buy your music!
Oasis fans queued in Aberdeen for the midnight release back in August 1997 with the album selling an incredible 400,000 copies on the first day in the UK.
After years of dance music, plastic pop and electronic beats dominating the charts, Liam and Noel Gallagher made it fashionable to be in a guitar band again.
Over time, peoples’ perceptions of Be Here Now began to change, but the initial reviews were overwhelmingly positive and this was the 1990s Britpop era in all its pomp.
Liam brought to tears
Two gigs at the AECC on September 19 and 20 were included in the world tour to promote the album with £17.50 tickets selling out in one-and-a-half hours.
Fans started queueing from 9.30am before the first show and Liam arrived at Aberdeen Airport on a BA flight from Heathrow at 11.45am to join up with his band-mates.
The band were staying at Raemoir House before the gig and stopped in for a couple of drinks at the Garlogie Inn where they sipped pints at the village pub.
Travis supported Oasis and singer Fran Healy brought Liam to tears backstage at the AECC when he performed an acoustic version of The Man Who song, Luv.
“I actually made Liam Gallagher cry in Aberdeen, he is quite a sensitive soul.
“Liam made me come into his dressing room and sing a song, so I performed a song of ours called Luv.
“I was very nervous, so I had my head down, and when I looked up at the end of it he had tears streaming down his face.
“This was backstage at the AECC, he is a lovely guy and not what people think of him.”
At the start of the gig, a ringmaster appeared to beckon the crowd to scream and clap, while the opening piano loop for title track Be Here Now began playing over the PA.
The band then entered onto the stage through a large door in a prop telephone box with Liam dressed in a skinny-rib army-style jumper, complete with shoulder patches.
Liam was trashing tambourines and microphone stands when he finally took to the stage and the band played 17 songs including seven from the new album.
Set highlights included Stay Young, Stand By Me, Supersonic, Some Might Say and Live Forever which Liam dedicated to the memory of Diana, Princess of Wales.
How good were Oasis in Aberdeen in 1997?
Former Oasis boss Alan McGee described the Aberdeen date as one of his top five best gigs performed by the band when he was interviewed in 2009.
“I’ll admit the Be Here Now tour was when Oasis lost their rock ‘n’ roll mojo.
“Not every date on this tour was a highlight, but Oasis were on fire in Aberdeen.
“It was completely mental, unrestrained, rebellious rock ‘n’ roll.
“Oasis became a gargantuan juggernaut of electric feedback and primal beats.”
The P&J review said Oasis left the sell-out crowd “in no doubt that they had just witnessed the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band at their breath-taking best”.
“The Gallagher brothers have a reputation for hit or miss performances but from the moment the band took the stage everyone knew they’d caught the boys on a good night.
“They had come to see more than just a rock concert and they were not disappointed.
“The frantic crowd exploded when they kicked off with title track from their new album Be Here Now.
“It was thrilling theatre from start to finish. The drums sat on top of a white Rolls Royce and a massive clock ticked backwards above the stage throughout the set.
“Liam was the star of the show. He swigged, swore and spat his way through the two hour set, delighting the crowd with his cheeky banter and legendary swagger.
“Dressed in a skinny-rib army-style jumper, complete with shoulder patches, the younger Gallagher was far from his usual passive self, trashing tambourines and microphone stands left, right and centre.
“He seemed to feed off the frenzied atmosphere that filled the giant Exhibition and Conference centre and give the crowd a performance to remember.
“The only downside to the constantly bouncing crowd was the tropical heat it generated, with dozens of fans needing medical attention.
‘Rock ‘n’ roll experience to never forget’
“In contrast with his buzzing younger brother, Noel was quieter than usual concentrating on playing the songs, happy to take a back seat.
“There was no sign of his traditional acoustic section but when Noel did briefly take centre stage for Magic Pie and the anthemic Don’t Look Back In Anger he was outstanding.
“The 7,500 crowd nearly drowning out Liam’s razor-sharp vocals on Supersonic was one of many highlights.
“As the final chords of Acquiesce faded into a constant stream of feedback, half the crowd made for the exits while the rest stared desperately at the stage praying for their heroes to come back just one more time.
“They didn’t, but they’ll be back tonight to give another hanger load of Aberdonians a rock ‘n’ roll experience they’ll never forget.”
Bonehead and Paul McGuigan left the band before the release of their fourth studio album in 1999 and were replaced by guitarist Gem Archer and bass player Andy Bell.
Three more Aberdeen shows before the split
Oasis went on to play Aberdeen three times more in 2002, 2005 and 2008, before finally splitting up in 2009.
The band had eight UK number-one singles and eight UK number-one albums.
Liam said in 2017 that Be Here Now remains among his favourite albums by the group while Noel has been more critical of the record although he loved the tour!
“That tour we did to promote the album is the best time I’ve ever had on a tour, even though it was chaos. To tour as the biggest band in the world is something else.
“To go to every single airport in the world and five hundred TV cameras waiting for you, although at the time you don’t realise it. It is an amazing thing. We spoke to all the people who were on that tour. I had a great time; I loved the scale of it all.”
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