As a defining image, it’s an unexpected choice: a sizeable portrait of Burt Bacharach sits in front of the drum riser, drawing the eye as a giant digital clock counts back the years to 1994. A songwriter of classic pop who died last year at age 94, the US artist seems an unlikely totem for a band – Oasis – whose general disdain for America, and surly investment in rock’n’roll, were core beliefs.

But Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher brought a Bacharach album to the photo shoot for the cover of the band’s debut album, Definitely Maybe (1994) – a photograph fondly recreated in spirit onstage tonight in an attempt to perk up this bland arena space. Flamingos, fake palm t...
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