Review: Noel Gallagher and Johnny Marr rock Warwick Castle

After all, the lead guitarist of Oasis – and the band’s creative force – has nothing to prove. We know he’s a musical genius, and so does he.

But for all the deadpan nonchalance, there was no doubt the Mancunian indie icon was enjoying himself as he joined his High Flying Birds for a headline set on the lawn of Warwick Castle last Sunday, July 21.

While he may have stopped short of grinning, Noel was on top form as he and his band delivered a powerhouse set of tunes from his post-breakup project spiced up with Oasis crowd-pleasers.

The set, in the shadow of England’s greatest Medieval castle, was the perfect end to a night of indie-rock royalty, featuring stellar sets by Johnny Marr, formerly lead guitarist of The Smiths, and Blur’s Graham Coxon with his latest band The Waeve.

The triple-bill was, itself, the conclusion of four days of live music for Warwick Castle Live. The series kicked off on Thursday of last week with The Music of Hans Zimmer vs John Williams, performed by the London Concert Orchestra, conducted by Anthony Inglis and culminating in a firework display.

That was followed on the Friday by McFly supported by The Hoosiers and ‘Elvis’ fronted Nirvana tribute, Elvana. Last Saturday saw dance music fans raving to club classics with a laser-lit Ministry of Sound Classical show supported by Sigma and Freemasons.

Sunday, however, was a celebration of indie-rock led by three of the genre’s undisputed masters – and their bands.

The Waeve is Coxon’s project with former Pipettes artist Rose Elinor Dougal and sees him stepping aside from the familiar bouncy indie-pop and chirpy rock of Blur with a captivating fusion of synth-fuelled electro-rock, lilting folk, driving post-punk attitude and saxophone – played by Coxon like you’ve never heard it before.

Johnny Marr. Picture by Tim Hughes

While Coxon and The Waeve are pushing boundaries, Johnny Marr is a man content to flex his muscles as one of the world’s greatest rock guitarists, interleaving new tunes with classics from his powerful back catalogue.

Like Noel, Johnny plays it cool, with a serious no-nonsense demeanour punctuated with rock flourishes and snatches of chat.

Johnny co-wrote The Smiths’ best tunes and, thank heavens, he is still proud of them.

“That’s a good one,” he deadpans after an electrifying rendition of his epic How Soon is Now – a spine-tingling, grungy wall of soul-stirring, juddering tremolo guitar and heart-wrenching vocals.

It was glorious, hypnotic, and – it is no exaggeration to say – will stay with everyone there forever.

He powered through solo bangers like opener Armatopia and Spirit Power and Soul, but it were the familiar Smiths tunes which inevitably got the 14,000-strong crowd going. And they came thick and fast with Panic, This Charming Man and Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want.

A lolloping cover of Iggy Pop’s The Passenger was followed by a singalong to Getting Away With It – his 90s classic with Electronic.

But it was the closer, downbeat love song There Is a Light That Never Goes Out which sent thousands of arms – and phones – skywards and had the whole field singing.

It would have been an impossible act for most acts to follow, but fellow Mancunian Noel Gallagher is not like most artists.

(Image: Tim Hughes)

Joined on stage not just by his High Flying Birds, but a cardboard cutout of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, Noel hurtled into a blistering set of tunes spanning the band’s four albums, accompanied by punchy visuals – with a definite sky blue theme nodding to his beloved football club’s colours.

It was a long set, with feisty High Flying Birds songs – turbocharged with a driving rhythm section – giving way to a rabble-rousing smattering of Oasis tunes culminating in Half the World Away, The Masterplan and Little by Little.

Noel exchanged banter with fans in the crowd – including a contingent of South Koreans who had decked the pit barrier in flags. There was cheekier chat to some of the lads. Noel was clearly enjoying himself – almost as much as we were.

Picture by Tim Hughes

The best was yet to come, however.

The band left the stage to the kind of roar surely not witnessed at Warwick Castle since it was besieged in the English Civil War. But they were back moments later with a trio of tunes designed to lift the heart of every Oasis fan: Stand by Me, Live Forever and Don’t Look Back in Anger.

With thoughts of a reunion with Liam still a pipe dream, for Oasis fans it surely doesn’t get any better than that.

Noel, for his part, threw everything into it, and so did the crowd – most of whom clearly fans since the 90s, transported back to the hazy heyday of Britpop... but with mobile phones, the lights of which lit up the hillside.

It was glorious – a fabulous finale to an amazing weekend of music in one of the loveliest venues imaginable.