TI N T H E PA R K
WINGING IT tinthepark.com
With T in the Park now at the third location in its history, Kirstyn Smith takes a look at the only artist to play
all three sites: Mr Noel Gallagher
T he Rain, Oasis, Smokin’ Mojo Filters, High Flying Birds: Noel he G Gallagher’s aliases over the years are set to match the frequency of hi high-proi le spats with brother Liam if he’s not careful. Still, have band wil band will travel; and he has, having appeared at innumerable festivals across th across the world. In fact, Gallagher will soon be able to boast that he is the on is the only person to have played at all three T in the Park locations: Strathcly Strathclyde Country Park, Balado and Strathallan Castle. We take a look back at back at how his T in the Park life has fared against his broader career.
1994 1994 At the v At the very i rst T in the Park, Noel performed with Oasis on the King T King King Tut’s Sunday lineup. Fifth on the bill, they appeared below House House of Pain, Greenock’s Whiteout and the future egghead du jour, P jour, Professor Brian Cox performing with ‘Things Can Only Get Better Better’ poppers, D:Ream who headlined the night. In the charts, Oasis’ Oasis’ i rst single ‘Supersonic’ had peaked at number 31 earlier in the ye the year, quickly followed by debut album Dei nitely Maybe which fared fared signii cantly better, crashing the charts at number one: the fastes fastest-selling British album at that time.
2002 2002 Oasi Oasis returned to T in the Park eight years later, this time as head headliners of the main stage on Saturday night. Up against Base Basement Jaxx on the BBC Radio 1 / NME stage, they followed Prim Primal Scream, Gomez and No Doubt. Gallagher was having a pr a pretty good couple of years: Oasis were soaring, with Hea Heathen Chemistry, released in July, becoming the group’s i fth i fth consecutive number one album. Single ‘The Hindu Times’ rea reached number one while ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’ and ‘Li ‘Little by Little / She is Love’ both peaked at number two. 20 2012 What a difference ten years makes. Sibling quibbles came to a W he head in 2009, leading to the break-up of Oasis. Gallagher’s i rst T T appearance sans Liam et al was with Noel Gallagher’s High F Flying Birds in 2012, second on the bill to fellow swaggering M Manc the Stone Roses on the Saturday night main stage. Back in in the real world, Gallagher had been touring since October 2 2011 with Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds after the r release of their self-titled album. ‘Dream On’ reached number t three in the UK indie charts, followed by ‘Everybody’s on the Run’ hitting number two later in the year. It’s not Oasis-level success, but at least it wasn’t Beady Eye (who failed to chart anywhere after 2011).
2015 Gallagher will be headlining once again on Sunday night, up against the Prodigy and Stereophonics in what looks like a battle of nostalgia acts. NGHFB are still rolling on, and Gallagher has turned into a bit of an award collector: most recently receiving a Q Icon award in both 2011 and 2013 from Q magazine, as well as NME’s Godlike Genius Award in 2012 and the somewhat more credible Ivor Novello for Outstanding Song Collection in 2012. In March this year, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ Chasing Yesterday topped the charts.
28 THE LIST 4 Jun–3 Sep 2015