MANC VIBES

Todd Fitzgerald ignores smartypants critics to enjoy the Liam Gallagher and John Squire collaboration

AS a lad who spent his student days screaming Champagne Supernova into an invisible mic on some grotty dancefloor or other - hands behind back, Gallagher sneer perfected - it's impossible not to be mesmerised by the man's mere presence on a Thursday night in Ardwick Green.

It would be disingenuous to feign anything but giddiness.

And as I sip a post-gig pint, it's all too easy to dissect ad nauseam the licks and riffs of the man beside Liam; the man who made me want to pick up the guitar as a kid and meticulously study every string bend.

But this isn't an exercise in cheap nostalgia. These two Mancunian icons still have plenty to offer those still mad fer it. They've hit on something special- and freshtogether with their debut offering.

A good number of critics have approached the collaboration between Liam Gallagher and John Squire with a snigger and an eye roll from the start.

Diehard Oasis and Stone Roses fans don't care if yet another musical smartypants trashes the whole thing. They were sold the second they heard two of their idols had been in the studio.

These guys have such a fiercely loyal fanbase - young and old - the Manc mash-up was always going to be huge.

A lyric or two may be a little trite But to smirk at hundreds of teenagers in bucket hats chanting 'red and orange, yellow and green, blue, indigo, violet' is to miss the point entirely.

"See, it's not so bad... yeah?," Gallagher scoffs as his loyal fans dutifully belt out the colours of the rainbow.

A '90s revival' may be a thing elsewhere, but in Manchester, the tunes and the timeless feeling we own something truly remarkablenever went away.