This is my first Blog on a Documentary and why not do it on one of my favourite bands Oasis. Don’t Look Back in Anger, if you can’t guess, this is about the Gallagher Brothers deciding to the bury the hatchet and not into each other, which made a nice change of pace, and instead to reform the band for Oasis Live’25.
I was one of those fans trying to get tickets in late 2024 when the tour was initially announced and although as many I initially failed in my attempt. Thankfully, on a re-release of tickets I was lucky enough to get 4 tickets to see Oasis at Wembley last September. I went with our kid Damo, his wife Lyndsay and my mate Rich. It was magical evening and one the best musical experiences I have had.
The question I had about this doc, is could it actually capture the spirit of gigs and also the main points of documentary is you should learn something about the band and how this series of events actually came to pass. I am happy to say that this most definitely does both. It also made me feel how I did on the night. I felt emotion and I was busily singing along to all the songs.
Anyone that knows the of history of Oasis and even myself wondered if the shows would even happen, as even when they were together previously, you never knew if the concert would go ahead or if one or both of the Gallaghers would pull out. One thing this documentary covers is the importance of Bonehead. He is their Rhythm Guitarist. However, as mentioned by Noel he is more than that and you could almost see him as the go between and without him their reconciliation may never have happened.
6 weeks before the live shows you see the band starting their preparation for the live shows. Before we even see Liam, we see the rest of the band getting ready, by making sure everything is working and getting to know the songs again. As Noel says later in the documentary. He wants them all to work hard here so they can enjoy the live shows.
Initially, the relationship does seem a bit frosty and you can see Noel questioning if he has made the right decision. Liam even appears quite aloof. However, I think he knew how important it was to not upset Noel at this early stage, as he had done in the past and I believe, it was just him being professional and making sure the lyrics were up to scratch and then let the band act as the thawing device between the two and it worked. When Liam grabs his brothers hand in his and raised it to the crowd, it not only surprised the crowd, but also Noel himself when it first happened in Cardiff.
You hear both Noel and Liam narrating throughout the documentary and there are some great insights. The biggest thing for me is that both knew they needed to give a bit and you also hear priest talking about how forgiveness is important and this is what both brothers needed to do. Just imagine never meeting your cousins. This was the case with the Gallaghers children and yet this coming together also allowed their children to get to know their wider family. They finally realised before it was too late to forgive, but not to forget as it is important to learn from our mistakes in life if we are to move on.
One thing I did manage to do with this documentary, that I couldn’t properly do at the gig was listen to final song, as I needed to rush to get a train home and this was hear one of my favourite Oasis tunes, Champagne supernova. However, I am not going to Look Back in Anger and Sally should not wait for this to come on Disney Plus. If you get a chance to see it in the cinema, create that Masterplan and do yourself a favour and go mad for it as I did in Imax.
