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Oasis fans have been revisiting old footage and sharing personal stories as the group celebrates 30 years since its historic Knebworth concerts.
August 10 marks three decades since Oasis played the first of their two enormous Knebworth shows in 1996. Tickets disappeared in less than 24 hours, with 250,000 people attending across both nights. Around 2.6 million fans reportedly tried to secure tickets, representing roughly five per cent of the UK population at the time. Demand was strong enough for the band to have filled the venue for 20 nights.
Recordings from the concerts were eventually issued as a live album. Oasis also commemorated the 25th anniversary through a full documentary about the performances, which became the most successful documentary at the UK box office in 2021.
To recognise the latest anniversary, Oasis posted a collection of photographs and video clips from Knebworth on Instagram.
Supporters also turned to social media to upload their own recordings and reflect on their experiences from three decades ago.
Remembering the scale of the occasion, one attendee wrote: “It was my fifth or sixth Oasis gig but this was just on another level We managed to get on to the roof of a burger van right at the back of the bowl for the big finish, and watching 125,000 people absolutely loving life as the opening bars to Champagne Supernova were struck up was like a moment in time.”
Another person recalled the atmosphere in vivid detail: “I remember them walking onto the stage with those huge balloons being thrown into the crowd. I remember my excitement, my tears. I even remember plastic chickens flying around near me. Everyone was happy. It was one huge celebration. It felt like all of us were there together with them. Everyone just wanted to have fun, sing along and have the best night of their lives and that’s exactly what it was for me.”
A third concertgoer reflected: “There’s something slightly unreal about Knebworth being 30 years ago…the crowd, that moment, that version of Oasis ..it feels like something that should exist in a photograph rather than in actual history…yet here we are, still talking about it& LIVING it.”
NME covered one of the Knebworth concerts three decades ago and later reflected: “Oasis’ double header at Maine Road months earlier was arguably a better gig but Knebworth felt like an era defining event. It was so colossal it was ridiculous. Even guitarist Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs admitted that the band should have quit following their huge outdoor shows, knowing that it really couldn’t get any better than this.”
The supporting artists also carried powerful memories of the weekend. The Charlatans had lost keyboard player Rob Collins in a car accident only three weeks before appearing at Knebworth. “We brought people down to their knees, down to tears!,” Tim Burgess later told NME. “I think if we’d played badly that would have been the end of the band, but we didn’t. It was a pivotal moment in The Charlatans story.”
The Prodigy founder Liam Howlett remembered performing before 250,000 people as a “big fucking rave”. He continued: “Knebworth was just beautiful, loads of people were on Es everywhere and stuff. It was an event never to be repeated, it was a moment in time.”
Liam Gallagher returned to Knebworth for two solo concerts in 2022, attracting approximately 170,000 people across both evenings.
In the days leading up to the anniversary, the company behind Oasis’ massive ‘Live ’25’ tour received permission to organise concerts at Knebworth. The development has added further weight to speculation about another Oasis return in 2027.
After receiving approval from North Hertfordshire Council, SJM Concerts now has the authority to arrange events at the famous location. The licence covers gatherings of up to 125,000 people and allows live music events to continue until 3am.
Reports surfaced last month suggesting that Oasis could follow their successful 2025 reunion with further UK and European concerts in 2027. Possible plans included a 12 night homecoming run in Manchester and another appearance at Knebworth.
Speculation about the band returning to the Hertfordshire venue has circulated since 2025. Last year, a British peer claimed in the House of Lords that Liam and Noel Gallagher would perform five consecutive anniversary concerts at Knebworth in 2026. She later withdrew her comments.
The latest 2027 rumours began after “a number of sources” reportedly connected to Manchester City FC claimed that 12 performances were being prepared for the Etihad Stadium.
No official announcement has been made. However, any residency tickets would probably become available this summer. May and June appear to be the most likely months, as Manchester City’s 2026 and 2027 fixture schedule lists its final home match for Saturday, May 23.
Separately, Oasis will release a new documentary directed by Steven Knight next month, following the arrival of its first trailer earlier this summer. Don’t Look Back In Anger will reach cinemas and IMAX screens on September 11. It will later become available internationally through Disney+ and Hulu before the end of 2026.
Recent clips from the documentary feature Liam and Noel backstage, where they predict that the reunion concerts are “going to be chaos”. It has since been reported that both brothers will appear together at the Venice Film Festival premiere.
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Madonna has shared a tribute to William Orbit after the producer passed away.
The Queen of Pop honored the man behind Ray of Light on social media Saturday, Aug. 8, following his death at 69.
“I had an epiphany when I met you and started working with you,” Madonna said in her tribute on Instagram. “I realized that music did not have to fit into categories or genres. So we created our own.”
Her upload featured footage from her speech at the 1999 Grammy Awards, where Orbit joined her while they received the prize for best pop vocal album. Ray of Light reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
Madonna went on to say, “You pressed a magic button inside of me and I fell into a galaxy of unrealized dreams. Your music gave me a magic carpet to fly on and I visited many places. Sad and Joyful.”
Orbit passed away at his residence on July 23, although news of his death did not emerge until Friday, Aug. 7. No cause was disclosed.
Before creating Madonna’s 1998 record Ray of Light with her, Orbit produced remixes of tracks such as “Justify My Love” and “Erotica.” His recognizable blend of techno, trip hop and downtempo music shaped the sound heard across the project.
“I sang in ways I’d never sung before,” Madonna explained in the message. “I used words without caring if they made sense or not. In many ways you were my Ray of Light — as was my daughter Lola who was born around this time.”
She also wrote, “I was starting a new chapter, I was choosing another road to walk down — and you were right by my side with your crooked teeth and your genius, way of hearing music. The studio was often church like and I would sit in silence, waiting for your ideas to explode out of your keyboard or your guitar and then I would run with them…”
Their creative partnership continued regularly throughout the next 10 years. Orbit earned production credits for “Beautiful Stranger,” “American Pie” and multiple tracks featured on Madonna’s 2000 release Music and her 2012 album MDNA.
“I miss those days. Only you could inspire me to write a song like Drowned World or Swim. You were so otherworldly. So singular,” Madonna shared. “The years passed and I moved on to make music with other people, but I have never forgotten you or the magical time we spent together. Goodbye Billy Bubbles. I was so lucky to have known you and fallen down the rabbit hole with you.”
See Madonna’s full tribute to Orbit on Instagram below.
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