Manchester gears up to welcome Oasis home, the city’s iconic Kimpton Clocktower Hotel is hosting a new free exhibition, offering music fans a walk down memory lane.
Open to the public now, Oasis Fans – 1994-1997 shows a series of never-before-seen photographs by renowned photographer Jon Shard, who opens the door to a world before online sales, dynamic pricing and frantically refreshing a website to get the hottest ticket in town.
The collection of photographs, curated by the British Culture Archive, shows scenes of fans excitedly queuing up in the cold winter of 1996, hoping to get their hands on tickets for the band’s sold out shows at Manchester City’s Maine Road stadium – for as little as £17.50 per ticket.
Renowned for his visually distinctive work across a number of fields, this was Shard’s first assignment for NME – the iconic music bible that shaped generations of music journalism and culture.
Speaking fondly of life pre-online ticket sales, Shard said: “Queuing in person had its charm – I felt privileged to capture the dedication of fans willing to stay out all night and brave the cold. Getting the ticket was an event itself, almost a rite of passage for fans.”
Adding a powerful layer to the exhibition, new images by celebrated photographer Amelia Troubridge have been introduced, capturing the electric atmosphere from inside the Maine Road gigs themselves. Her high-energy shots from within the crowd complement Jon Shard’s images of the fans eager to get their hands on the precious tickets, together creating a truly immersive, 360-degree portrait of the Oasis experience — from the anticipation of the queue to the euphoria of the show.
Giving visitors a deeper insight into the magic of Oasis and their music, the exhibition also features a Fan Wonderwall – with archive images spanning from 1994-97 from fans attending gigs, from pre-smart phone gig-videos, through to their latest performances.
One Oasis fan featured in the exhibition; Leah Walker, who was successful in securing her ticket and attended one of the two sold-out Maine Road stadium shows looked back: “I was one of those kids who camped out at Maine Road to secure a ticket, and when the day of the gig finally came, it didn’t disappoint. The area around the stadium, Rusholme and Moss Side was buzzing. I’m in my mid-40s now, and we have never had anything like that in music since.”
David Lockhart, general manager of Kimpton Clocktower Hotel, added: “It’s a privilege to play a part in the city welcoming the Gallagher brothers home. The photographs by Jon Shard offer a glimpse into a defining moment in Manchester’s music history, and we’re proud to share this with our guests and the city.”
Oasis Fans – 1994-1997 is open to the public and free to view on the walls of Refuge, Kimpton Clocktower Hotel, until 31st August 2025.
