Oasis invited to return for Knebworth anniversary

The owner of Knebworth House has invited the newly re-formed Oasis to play the venue to mark the 30th anniversary of their previous visit.

In August 1996 the band played to 250,000 people at the Hertfordshire stately home.

Henry Lytton-Cobbold, who owns Knebworth House, joked: "Wembley is a reasonable warm-up venue for Knebworth. Then get ready for a nice huge 30th shindig in 2026.

"That's what the people want and they seem pretty good at doing what the people want. It would be a great way to have the best party of all parties."

Knebworth House has been used as a music venue since 1974.

It has hosted performances by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Queen, who played their final concert with frontman Freddie Mercury at the house in 1986.

When Oasis played there in 1996, more than 2% of the UK population applied for tickets, which sold out in under 24 hours.

In 2022, Oasis singer Liam Gallagher returned to the venue for two concerts, a year after a documentary film about the 1996 Knebworth concerts was released in cinemas.

Mr Lytton-Cobbold said: "He knows where we are, he's always been keen, he's up for it. They just have to stay mates for 12 months."

On Tuesday, Oasis announced a world tour for next year, which would be the first time Liam and Noel Gallagher will have performed together since Noel left the band in 2009.

Explaining their long-lasting success, Mr Lytton-Cobbold said: "They just hit a nerve with some really fantastic anthems at an important time for the country.

"Guitar bands were ruling the roost. That's dropped off now. If this is a return for them then that's extremely good news.

"My wish for the mid-2020s is a revival of guitar bands."

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