Oasis forced to abandon Manchester Heaton Park stage

Oasis were forced to abandon the stage twice at their huge headline show at Manchester's Heaton Park tonight (June 4) due to technical difficulties.

Liam and Noel Gallagher and co left the stage while generator problems were fixed, once during their opening song, then again during the second number. They then returned to play a full live set, during which they vowed to give full refunds to the 70,000 fans in attendance.

At around 9pm (BST), following support slots from Twisted Wheel, Reverend And The Makers (standing in for The Enemy, who cancelled due to frontman Tom Clarke falling ill) and Kasabian, the band began their set with 'Rock 'N' Roll Star'.

The song was stopped due to sound problems, and the band headed off stage for around ten minutes to the sound of boos from the crowd.

They then returned and began to play 'Lyla', although that song was also cut short due to further sound troubles.

The band left the stage again, while a message appeared on the stage screens declaring that the problems would be fixed as soon as technical staff could sort them out.

The message explained that generator failure was causing the issues, while smoke could be seen emanating from the equipment. It was then updated to say "Almost there!".

Oasis returned to the stage after around 40 minutes to successfully kick-start the set again with 'The Shock Of The Lightning' and 'Cigarettes And Alcohol', with the Gallaghers promising to give fans their money back.

"Really sorry about that," Liam Gallagher told the crowd. "This is a free gig now. Everyone will get a refund."

His brother Noel added: "The curfew's 11, but we'll play 'til they kick us off. Keep your ticket and you'll get your money back."

Later in the set, however, the logistics of the promised refunds seemed to trouble Noel.

"We're not sure how its gonna work with getting the money back," he said before playing 'Half The World Away'. "Be on a website or summat. We're not getting paid for this so buy a t-shirt on the way out. Credit crunch and that, keep my kids in sweets.

"If you're getting your mum and dad to pick you up outside afterwards, tell them we're not leaving til 2am. Kind of regret offering you your money back now. Apply for it back if you wanna be a cunt, we do our best for you."

The band played a 23-song set, ending with their customary cover of The Beatles' 'I Am The Walrus' at 11:20pm.

Oasis played:

'Rock 'N' Roll Star'
'Lyla'
'The Shock Of The Lightning'
'Roll With It'
'Cigarettes And Alcohol'
'The Meaning Of Soul'
'To Be Where There's Life'
'Waiting For The Rapture'
'The Masterplan'
'Songbird'
'Slide Away'
'Morning Glory'
'My Big Mouth'
'The Importance Of Being Idle'
'Half The World Away'
'I'm Outta Time'
'Wonderwall'
'Live Forever'
'Supersonic'
'Don't Look Back In Anger'
'Falling Down'
'Champagne Supernova'
'I Am The Walrus'

They are set to play Heaton Park again on Saturday (June 6) and Sunday (7).

Live Review - Oasis triumph against the odds at Heaton Park, by Rick Martin

Blog - Was Bonehead right when he said Oasis should have bowed out after Knebworth?

See all the action from Oasis' first night at Heaton Park in our exclusive gallery.