Liam Gallagher’s triumphant return to Knebworth almost felt like an Oasis reunion

Oasis may never get back together but that didn't stop Liam Gallagher from giving the people what they want: the band's biggest hits

“Do we have any Oasis fans on the field?” asked Liam Gallagher, laying claim to perhaps the most rhetorical of questions. “Any from 1996?” The roar from the crowd suggested Gallagher was not the only one returning to the scene of his former band’s greatest triumph: the Britpop-defining Knebworth concerts held 26 years ago in the very same Stevenage stately home.

Few back then would have put money on Liam being the first Gallagher brother to sell out this crowd again following the band’s acrimonious split in 2009. Songwriter sibling Noel was always the brains behind the anthems and has refused to reform Oasis – or even reconcile with his younger brother – ever since. But Liam’s trump card is understanding just how much his past means to so many. He realises it doesn’t really matter who’s on drums (or maybe, in the ultimate insult to Noel, who’s on guitar), so long as he performs the songs people want to hear.

While Gallagher is about to turn 50, suffers from such chronic arthritis and is considering a double hip replacement, there were moments last night when it felt like no time had passed since the Nineties. On the big screen, he looked barely a day over 29, all sideburns and sunglasses, wrapped in a white Parka coat and brandishing his trademark tambourine. The largely male audience were happy to relive their Nineties glory days too, back in their bucket hats, arms around each other and drinking enough to forget they’d gained children and a mortgage since they were last at Knebworth.

The nearly two-hour set list didn’t let them down. Gallagher wisely sandwiched solo material between meaty chunks of Oasis songs, kicking off with a trio of full-throttle, ground-shakers: Hello, Rock ‘N Roll Star and Morning Glory. Though Gallagher’s latest solo album C’Mon You Know is currently perched at the top of the album charts, it seemed he would rather have been here with Oasis than on his own.

Yet his solo material isn’t entirely an afterthought. Three albums in, Gallagher has diligently carved out new classics for those who want more of the same. Last night, Wall of Glass, Everything’s Electric and Once more than held their own, bellowed by the crowd as much as any Oasis hit. More Power was particularly striking for its sensitive lyrics buried in a wall of sound. But others, like Diamond In The Dark, felt like filler.

Still, Gallagher’s impeccable rock star swagger never wavered, hands either clamped firmly behind his back or menacingly rattling a pair of maracas. His banter between songs was, as ever, kept to a minimum – a shame considering Gallagher’s acerbic humour has always saved him from sliding into rock star parody. He briefly dedicated songs to his mum, his beloved Man City, his fiancée Debbie Gwyther and “the Stevenage massive”. Most touchingly, he told us Rock ‘N Roll Star was for former Oasis guitarist Bonehead, who was supposed to join him on stage but is undergoing treatment for tonsil cancer.

By the encore, the fans got exactly what they came for. A brazen barrage of the biggest Oasis hits had the crowd bouncing on a sea of flattened paper pint glasses, singing every word so loudly Gallagher was sometimes drowned out completely. “Biblical, biblical, biblical,” he marvelled midway through a deafening rendition of Wonderwall. This may have been the closest we’ll ever get to an Oasis reunion.

Touring the UK and Ireland until September; liamgallagher.com