During his show at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium on Wednesday (June 1), Liam Gallagher dedicated the last song of his set – Oasis’ 1996 hit ‘Champagne Supernova’ – to a fan who died earlier this year.
The song was played in tribute to Grant Taylor, a fan of Gallagher’s who’d passed away in February at the age of 22. It was a request made by Taylor’s sister Katie, who tweeted it to Gallagher last month. She’d initially asked for Gallagher to dedicate ‘Live Forever’ to him, as it was “his chosen funeral song [and] played as we carried his coffin in March”.
Katie attended the show using a ticket that Grant had originally bought for himself, and spent the spent the duration of the show holding up a flag that sported a photo of her brother, a blue heart, the acronym ‘GT22’ and the words ‘Live Forever’.
See footage of the tribute, and the full performance of ‘Champagne Supernova’, below:
@liamgallagher you’re amazing???????? https://t.co/Kz5RwZM4aR pic.twitter.com/Q94tx5jQ6m
— Katie Taylor (@_katiettaylor) June 1, 2022
Gallagher is currently on tour across the UK and Europe in support of his third solo album, ‘C’mon You Know’. The Manchester gig was the first date on his sprawling summer leg, which continues tonight (June 3) with the first of two shows at Knebworth Park – the site of Oasis’ famous 1996 gigs. The run will continue into November, with a detour to Australia and New Zealand lined up for next month.
Also during the Manchester gig, Gallagher performed Oasis song ‘Roll It Over’ – from 2000’s ‘Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants’ – for the first time ever. The show had been reported as being cancelled last month, but that wasn’t the case: rather, according to Gallagher, “some [bell]end” hacked his website to mislead fans in the city.
NME gave ‘C’mon You Know’ a four-star review, with writer Jordan Bassett calling it “his best and most experimental solo album yet”. He continued: “At once experimental and familiar enough to keep his stunning second act on course, ‘C’mon You Know’ finds Liam Gallagher having his cake and eating it – and there’s plenty to go round at this party. If he doesn’t overthink it, why should you? Turn off your mind, relax and bring the cans.”
