Noel Gallagher was very "nervous" about his performance of ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ at the We Are Manchester benefit concert.
The former Oasis guitarist headlined the re-opening of the Manchester Arena, which has been closed since a horrific terrorist attack took place at an Ariana Grande concert in May, on Saturday night (09.09.17) and he admits he was worried his emotions would get the better of him when he had to play the anthem.
He said: "As it was getting closer, I was thinking I hope I am going to be able to pull this off because it’s quite an emotional thing.
"It would’ve been an emotional thing if it was in Dagenham, but the fact it’s your hometown and you’ve played that arena, but it was great."
The 50-year-old rocker has never felt anxious before performing live before, but felt a huge responsibility to honour the 22 victims who died in the bombing and those who survived – some of whom were in the audience – especially as the song has become a mark of "defiance" for the city in the wake of the horrific attack.
Speaking on the BBC Radio 6 Music Breakfast show, he said: "It was the first time I’ve ever got nervous going on stage because of what happened with that song in the aftermath of the bombing, it kind of became an anthem for defiance. And how the people rallied round it in the minutes silence, which I was watching live on the news when it happened and I was rendered kind of speechless…."
Speaking about a vigil held after the attack where one person started singing the 1995 hit, he said: "The thing that happened with ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’, the one thing that I’ve learnt is that music is of the utmost importance. In a minute’s silence, for something so horrific that people are in their own thoughts and silence, and then one girl breaks the silence by singing that song and everybody joins you and they are all together in that moment, music really is important."
Noel Gallagher admits to We Are Manchester pre-show nerves
