Uncut’s Worst Gigs – Ever!

In last month's UNCUT, our writers, friends and favourite musicians reminisced about their favourite gigs. Well, in this month’s issue we’re looking back on the worst gigs we’ve ever seen - including The Stone Roses, Bob Dylan, Kevin Rowland and David Bowie - with rare photos from the shows too. We're also going to publish one of the worst gigs every day, with online exclusives, so feast your eyes on this, and be glad you weren’t there! ***** 7 | OASIS Whisky-A-Go-Go, LA September 24, 1994 STEVE SUTHERLAND: Liam shambles on stage alone, leans into the mic and snarls: “The fookin’ band aren’t coming. You’ve just got me tonight.” This is not inconceivable. They’d been thrown out of the KROQ radio station for swearing on air, there’d been a punch-up with bouncers at the Viper Room the night before, and then a street party until 6am with a crazed Bonehead playing “Supersonic” over and over until the LAPD hauled out the bullhorns and informed the boy to put the guitar down and come quietly. Is Liam the lone soldier out of the slammer? Nah! Here come the rest, sheepish grins. “Rock’n’Roll Star”. The bass amp explodes. Noel hauls the song to a halt. Liam sneers: “We’ll play it again for ya.” He looks shagged. They all do. But this is the Whiskey, where Led Zep, The Who, The Doors, you name it, made history. And Oasis want their slice. They play their opener again. Some goateed kid crowd-surfs onto the stage, knocks Liam’s mic over. Liam shakes a fist in his face and informs the house, in no uncertain terms, that the band are up here, you’re down there and that’s how it’s gonna stay. “Columbia”. Something new: Noel’s singing camp harmonies to Liam’s harsh yowl, blunting the edge of the song. “I’m Pete Townshend,” a coke-cocky Noel had declared in the dressing room earlier. “I got the brown flares. I write the songs. Play the songs. Sing the songs.” “Shakermaker”. If Noel’s gonna sing, Liam can’t be arsed, misses his lines. Noel glares at him and Liam lurches across, puts his face about an inch from his brother’s and tells him to go fuck himself. Noel shrugs him off. Liam paces a fast full circle round the stage like a caged animal and returns for some more. There’s much pushing and shoving. Liam twats Noel around the back of the head with a tambourine. Some of the crowd, who’ve been deathly silent up until this point, start to chant “Fight! Fight!” “Live Forever”. Liam sings: “I don’t wanna know why you pick your nose” and sees the song out doing the wanker thing with his fist directed at Noel. Then he sits on the drum riser and yawns.The band struggle on. Liam finally shoots his wad halfway through “I Am The Walrus” with a sarcastic, “Thank yew very mooooch.” He stalks offstage, straight out of the door, striding down Sunset with a towel round his neck.Oasis are due on the road until May ’95. Noel quits the band the next day. Bye bye Miss American Pie. ***** plus WERE YOU THERE? Not even UNCUTs war-weary gig-hounds have been to every show in history – but you lot probably have. Email Allan_Jones@ipcmedia.com to share your memories, of the ones we've published or any which we have missed, and we’ll publish the best in a future issue