IT is exactly 20 years since Bolton hosted two concerts by Manchester music legends Oasis who arrived at the then Reebok Stadium for one of the biggest live events ever staged in the borough.

More than 70,000 fans watched the band over two nights at the home of Bolton Wanderers as the Gallagher brothers opened the UK leg of their world tour with the band's first gig on home soil for over two years.

The first of two sold-out concerts on July 15 2000 was only the second to feature Noel Gallagher after he quit overseas touring duties with the group earlier in the year after a row with brother Liam in Barcelona.

The period leading up to the gigs marked a hugely fraught time in the notoriously unstable band: founding members Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs and Paul McGuigan had left the previous year with new lead/rhythm guitarist Colin "Gem" Archer, formerly of Heavy Stereo, and bassist Andy Bell, ex of Ride and Hurricane #1 joining the new look line up.

With the departure of the founding members, the band made several small changes to their image and sound, with their new album, Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants, the first Oasis release to include a song written by Liam Gallagher, while other songs also had more experimental, psychedelic influences. Despite this the band's fourth album received lukewarm reviews and remains the Oasis' lowest selling studio LP.

Watch Oasis backstage at the Reebok Stadium:

The gig itself was played in a highly charged atmosphere with the Bolton Evening News reporting that "more than four hours before the band were actually due to perform, hundreds of fans had crushed themselves in front of the stage.

"Dozens of others remained outside the stadium perfecting their Liam-type swagger or playing impromptu football among the hot-dog stands."

Support came from the Happy Mondays, along with the Mancunian debut of former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr's new outfit The Healers.

As Oasis walked on to the stage, a crush developed at the front as some people fell over. Security intervened to rectify the situation immediately and the band themselves urged the crowd to be careful. Noel shouted: “If anyone falls over next to you, make sure you pick them up. It’s just polite. We don’t want anyone dying before they’ve bought a f***ing T-shirt on the way out,” before adding, “Tell you what, though, whoever’s in charge of security out front’s getting sacked.”

The band also stopped playing at one after a fan climbed a huge speaker stack, prompting a Liam to shout: “Am I everyone’s dad here or what? Oi, Elvis, get down off them speakers!”

The NME reported that "at various points, gangs of men were heard to chant 'No surrender to the IRA' and shower the singer with cries of 'Heil Liam'.

But otherwise, the two-hour greatest hits set passed without trouble, weighted in favour of earlier material, as well as Noel‘s regular cover of Neil Young‘s Hey, Hey, My, My (Out Of The Blue).

Despite the problems our reviewer wrote: "Nobody was ever in danger of being hurt and there was little trouble of note.

"The Oasis experience was certainly one of the biggest events to ever hit Bolton and will hopefully lead the way for more bands to also appear at the Reebok.

"The crowds left feeling happy and hoarse after singing to all their favourite songs and hopefully the residents of Lostock and Horwich were not too disturbed by the hundreds of Liam lookalikes on the loose."

Setlist: Go Let It Out, Who Feels Love?, Supersonic, Shakermaker, Acquiesce, Step Out, Gas Panic!, Roll With It, Stand by Me, Wonderwall, Cigarettes & Alcohol, Don't Look Back in Anger, Live Forever

Encore: Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black) (Neil Young & Crazy Horse cover), Champagne Supernova, Rock 'n' Roll Star

Were you at either night? What are your memories? Did you take any pictures? Please get in touch with jamie.bowman@nqnw.co.uk