Maine Road wasn’t just a stadium. For two nights in ‘96, it was everything.
Oasis were at their peak. Bigger than Britpop, bigger than the charts, bigger than the moment itself. This was their homecoming—the one that meant more than the record sales and the magazine covers. 80,000 people, rain in the air, with nothing to prove.
Noel Gallagher stepped out in a Pac Jac. Not a stylist’s pick, not an overthought decision—just a jacket that did exactly what it needed to do. Waterproof, lightweight, striking on stage, and with just enough movement for the occasional guitar solo.
As history was being written in the crowd, so was a jacket’s legacy. “Someone was saying, ‘You can’t play outdoors in Manchester in April, it’ll rain!’” Noel later recalled. “I was like, ‘It f***ing rains in August! What’s the difference?’” The answer was simple… “wear a coat.”
