Oasis Sheffield: Looking back at band's famous shows in Sheffield as Liam Gallagher sparks hopes of reunion

The Britpop giants played many memorable gigs in Sheffield before their acrimonious split in 2009, when the warring siblings finally decided they’d had enough of one another, so could they be back before fans in the Steel City again?

Liam Gallagher tweeted on Wednesday: “Just had RKID on the phone begging for forgiveness bless him wants to meet up what Dya reckon meet up or f*** him off.” Those 24 words sent fans into fits of delirium, with the tweet being viewed 5.8 million times and generating 50,000 likes and hundreds of replies, many from fans desperate for the brothers to patch things up and get back on stage together.

One of Oasis’ earliest gigs was at Sheffield Hallam University on October 28, 1993. As their fame grew, they graduated to The Leadmill on May 14, 1994, when their set-list included hits like Cigarettes & Alcohol and Supersonic, along with a cover of I Am the Walrus by their biggest musical inspiration the Beatles.

They also played at the University of Sheffield’s Octagon Centre that December before returning to Sheffield the following year to play before a much bigger crowd at Sheffield Arena on April 22, 1995 – their first arena gig, which ex-Creation Records managing director Tim Abbot later said ‘changed everything’.

That concert, where they were joined on the bill by home city favourites Pulp, was widely viewed as the moment the Manchester band achieved true rock stardom. It was also the first time fans got to hear one of their most famous songs, Don’t Look Back in Anger. Noel Gallager told the 12,000-strong crowd that night as he prepared to play what would become perhaps their most defining anthem: “I’m gonna play a brand new one - I only wrote it on Tuesday! No one’s heard this before. I haven’t got a title for it yet either.” The gig was notable too for being the last Oasis played with their original drummer Tony McCarroll, who left not long after to be replaced by Alan White.

As Oasis dominated the charts, winning their much-publicised battle with Blur, excitement was even higher when they returned to play two nights at Sheffield Arena in 1997. The Star reported at the time how there had been a ‘stampede’ for tickets to see the indie greats, with the 24,000 allocation selling out within four hours. They entertained Sheffield for what would be the last time in 2008, playing two gigs at Sheffield Arena that October before breaking up the following year.

Oasis released seven studio albums in all, scoring eight number one singles, and selling a total of 70 million records worldwide.