Pete is a regular contributor to the musicmuso website, his features on all sorts of wonderful things often raise a smile and receive feedback and praise from people as far as Outer Mongolia. Pete and I took a trip to Knebworth a few years back, well, 19 years ago to be truthful, we had a great day, crashed into a taxi on the way up to the gig, got lost after the show and ended up nearly dying on the M5 owing to the driver falling asleep at the wheel, all in all, a great day, I'll hand over the reigns to little bro to tell you all about it....

 

Your Name?
Peter Tenacious Muscutt

 

Where do you live?
I live in the quiet village of Kirk Michael in the Isle of Man, although I am a devoted Devonian!

 

Age now?
I have amazingly reached the grand old age of 33...which isn't old.

 

What was your FIRST ever gig that you attended?
I do believe it was Oasis at Knebworth in 1996 - it was a rather massive occasion to attend as your first concert, and I've wracked my brains to think of any concert I may have attended previous to it, but I honestly can't recall any. Therefore the Knebworth gig with Noel and the lads wins.

 

Where was the gig?
I do believe it was in the grounds of the stately home at Knebworth - I don't remember seeing the actual house however. It might have been in the same location that the greats such as Pink Floyd, The Stones, Queen and Led Zeppelin have played; I can't be sure of this because at the end of the day it was in a great big bloody field.

 

Do you remember who the support act(s) was/were?
The ones I remember were The Charlatans, Dreadzone and Manic Street Preachers. There were two nights that Oasis played there, and The Bootleg Beatles did one of them. Not the gig we went to, though. I have a feeling that Chemical Brothers might have played, it was around the time Noel did guest vocals for them, so it's a possibility. Again, they weren't on the day we attended.

 

Who did you go with?
It was me and my brother/illustrious leader of www.musicmuso.com, Steve Muscutt.

 

How did you get there?
Ha - this is the source of some comedy (as was getting back again). We took a coach that I think picked us up from Newton Abbot train station and proceeded up the motorway to deposit us in Stevenage some hours later. Getting there was fine from what I recall, it was getting back when the horror started - more of that later...

 

What do you remember most about the show?
Random odd memories now, seeing as it was nearly 20 years ago! I remember standing about half a mile back from the stage, such was the size of the crowd (around 250,000 according to estimates). The old-style 'Oasis' band logo appeared on the backdrop about ten minutes before they came onstage, and I remember Steve and I saying how the word grew more meaningless when you repeated it over and over again. James Dean Bradfield from the Manics sang 'Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head' as a solo acoustic number...I think the opening song Oasis did was 'Acquiesce', which we debated endlessly before Oasis came on...the gig was also being broadcast live by BBC Radio One, which I had my mum on stand-by back at home with a cassette to record (she later reported that "there was a lot of swearing" - hmm, figures). 

 

How did you feel the moment the lights dimmed and the ‘intro’ music started?
Feeling terribly excited, that I was seeing a band I really liked for the first time at such a big spectacle.

 

Was it indoors or outdoors?
Outdoors.

 

Did you buy a T-Shirt?
No, I was a penniless teenager back then, although I did have a T-shirt bought for me which was a navy blue one with the Oasis logo and 'Knebworth '96' on it. I had it for ages after the concert.

 

Did you like the band MORE after you saw them live?
Yeah, I think I was one of the few who enjoyed their 'Be Here Now' album, which came out a year or so later. I do think they nose-dived as a band after that LP though, and I didn't really like their last few albums. Apart from that though, I think seeing Oasis in 1996 was seeing them at the pinnacle of their greatness.

 

If you didn’t already own them, did you go and buy more of their music AFTER seeing them live?
I think I had everything that Oasis had released up to that point, and I went out and bought whatever they released afterwards as well. Until, as I say, things started going a bit belly-up with the release of 'Heathen Chemistry' which didn't really connect with me. Oasis 1996 was the 'classic' line-up, which I loved.

 

Are you still a follower of the band?
At the risk of sounding like a man old before his time, I do prefer their older material. I'm not one for them after about 2002...but they did release some of the best songs of my teenage years.

 

How many times have you seen the act/band now?
I've seen them at Knebworth in 1996, and again at Exeter Westpoint in 1997. That was probably the last time.

 

What advice would you give to a young fan looking to attend his/her first gig?
OK, this links in to the 'how did I get there' question earlier. Remember I said it was the getting back that was hellish? Well the advice I'd give to a young fan attending their first concert is not to use the same coach firm Steve and I did to go to Stevenage. Upon the gig ending, we tramped back (in the dark) through the wet to where our coach had dropped us off, only to find the coach wasn't there. We then found out - I'm not sure how - that the coach was in fact in another car park about a mile away. Cue another trek through the dark and wet, for an inordinate period of time, until we found our coach which was just about to depart without us! After taking our seat, it became apparent that the driver, who was meant to have slept during the day in order to be fresh and ready for the drive back home. The thing is though, the driver hadn't slept and had in fact been up all day after starting his working day at around 4am. So he was now forced with a
near three-hour drive home, at night, with zero sleep. Steve and I were sat near the front, and Steve took it upon himself to ensure the driver stayed conscious for our journey home! I think we got back about 6am the following morning, and Steve was due to go to work! I have no idea if he did or not (perhaps he can enlighten us) (I did have to go to work after zero sleep, it was a fun day sat at the cashiering desk of a bank I can tell you!) but I know I went home to bed!!! (Underneath my huge Oasis poster I had in my room at the time, of course!). So yeah, my advice is don't use a coach firm that uses unreliable drivers (that crash into taxis). Or just start small, go to a tiny indoor gig or something. Build up to the larger concerts!!