Gig review: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds at The Piece Hall, Halifax

The sprawling 18th-century former Georgian cloth hall, which now houses history exhibits, shops, bars and restaurants, is an amazing gig venue.

Character and charm drip from every corner of the site and Oasis legend Gallagher took centre stage from start to finish.

Having first seen Noel perform live with Oasis at the seminal Knebworth gigs in the summer of 1996, his appeal and stage presence has endured some 26 years on.

At 55, and resplendent in jeans and a denim shirt, the supremely-talented Mancunian remains iconic.

Much like his younger brother and former Oasis frontman Liam, the former Oasis frontman, Noel’s acerbic wit and forthright manner remains very much part of his make-up.

He aimed a few barbs at the Yorkshire crowd, teasing them about the county and its biggest football club.

“Yorkshire, apart from the tea, is a s***hole,” said the Britpop legend.

Cue boos from the crowd and again when the diehard Manchester City fan fired a few shots at Leeds United.

“I want to make a dedication, it’s not a good dedication, to Leeds United,” said Noel, happy to play the role of pantomime villain.

“When you are all crying with your f***ing shirts off at Elland Road on the last day of next season remember this moment.”

Still, it was all in a good cause.

The sold-out crowd left happy with a fine setlist that included a number of Oasis classics, plus plenty more recent material of his own.

The gig started with some High Flying Birds tracks such as Holy Mountain and We’re on Our Way Now and continued with Black Star Dancing and Dead in the Water.

Then came the eagerly-awaited Oasis classics Little by Little, The Importance of Being Idle, Whatever, Wonderwall, Half the World Away and Stop Crying Your Heart Out.

Predictably, they went down a storm before a rousing encore which featured If I Had a Gun, AKA...What a Life! and the timeless Don’t Look Back in Anger.

A truly memorable night.