Be Here Now Tour 1997-1998

Lore & Background

By mid-1997, Oasis had already cemented themselves as the defining rock act of their generation. *Be Here Now*, released that August, was a deliberate step into grander, more orchestral territory—longer songs, layered harmonies, and a confidence that bordered on the operatic. The tour that followed was designed to match that ambition. Production values leapt well beyond the raw, five-piece energy of the *Definitely Maybe* and *Morning Glory* eras: sweeping video screens, elaborate lighting rigs, and a staging that turned every stadium into a cathedral of noise and light.

The setlists wove new material from *Be Here Now*—the shimmering 'D'You Want to Know a Secret,' the anthemic 'All Around the World,' the ballad 'Let Forever Be'—into a framework of older favourites that had become generational touchstones. 'Wonderwall,' 'Don't Look Back in Anger,' 'Live Forever,' and 'Supersonic' remained non-negotiable set-closers or mid-set pillars, and the crowd's ability to sing them back in unison became a defining feature of every show. The Gallagher brothers' on-stage chemistry—part rivalry, part genuine affection, part performative disdain—remained the gravitational centre around which every performance orbited.

The tour also carried the weight of expectation. *Be Here Now* had been a polarising record in the press, and the live shows became the arena where the band proved or disproved the album's ambition. In practice, the songs that had divided critics in the studio—'Cast No Shadow,' 'A Little While,' 'The Heavy Load'—tended to land with a different, more physical force in a stadium packed with tens of thousands of fans, and the tour became a kind of collective re-argument in the band's favour.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights hit the fog at the back of the stage and the whole crowd inhaled as one. Liam stood at the mic, arms crossed, mouthing a line nobody could quite make out over the roar. Noel was already three songs deep into a solo that had no business being that long, his head thrown back, eyes shut, the guitar neck catching the strobe in white flashes. Somewhere in the sea of raised hands, a girl in a faded green Oasis tee was singing 'Let Forever Be' word for word, tears cutting tracks through the stage-dust on her cheeks, not caring that the person next to her was doing the same. Bonehead was doing his little shoulder-shake. Guigsy was nodding along like the bassline was a personal suggestion. And when the last chord rang out and the silence lasted exactly one second before the stadium detonated, Liam turned to Noel, pointed at him, and said something that was almost a compliment. Almost. The crowd roared as if it were one.

Reader's Guide

The 1997–98 campaign centred on the UK and Western Europe, with a string of stadium and large-arena dates across England, Scotland, and the continent. The routing was less a single continuous leg than a series of clusters—several nights in one city, a break, then a new cluster—typical of major British acts of the era.

Setlists evolved slowly across the run. Early shows leaned more heavily on *Be Here Now* material to drive the album's profile, while later dates settled into a more balanced blend, with the older crowd-pleasers ('Wonderwall,' 'Don't Look Back in Anger,' 'Live Forever,' 'Supersonic') becoming fixed anchor points. New songs like 'All Around the World' and 'Cast No Shadow' were often placed mid-set to build momentum, while ballads such as 'Let Forever Be' were reserved for the emotional peak before the encore.

The production was a step-change from the band's earlier, leaner shows. Large rear screens displayed visuals and camera feeds, the lighting design was more theatrical, and the overall staging gave the five-piece a wider, more cinematic footprint. The Gallagher brothers' banter, on-stage jostling, and Liam's signature mic-stand stomp remained the human core beneath all that technology.

Incidents were never far away. The brothers' volatile dynamic produced moments of genuine tension in front of the audience, and at least one show saw Liam walk off stage mid-set, leaving the crowd in stunned, then defiant, silence before the band regrouped. These raw moments, paradoxically, deepened the audience's sense that they were witnessing something unscripted and irreplaceable.

Did You Know?

• The tour's production represented a significant upgrade from Oasis's earlier, more stripped-back live shows, incorporating large video screens and a much more elaborate lighting design to match the grander scope of the B
• Songs like 'All Around the World' and 'Cast No Shadow,' which received mixed reception in the studio, often became some of the most physically powerful moments of the live set, with stadium audiences singing back the cho
• The Gallagher brothers' on-stage rivalry was a constant feature of the tour, with moments of tension, pointing, and muttered exchanges becoming part of the show's texture and a source of both anxiety and affection for th
• The 1997–98 tour is often remembered by fans as the last time the classic five-piece lineup performed with the unbroken momentum of the mid-nineties, before the band entered a longer period of creative uncertainty.