In April 1996, something shifted. For two nights in Manchester, music, football, and community collided in a way that still echoes decades on. The venue was Maine Road—home to Manchester City until 2003, and, for those two nights, a different kind of cathedral.

The band? Oasis. At the height of their powers. A homecoming, but also a landmark. The gigs weren’t just another stop on tour. They were the kind of cultural moment that define a generation—one that still lives on in memory, passed down like a story worth retelling.

 

“It was just like that togetherness. That’s what it is… It’s just a community thing, isn’t it? A belonging.”

— Cheryl McMahon, Manchester City fan (Mundial Magazine)

 

Creation Records boss Alan McGee—who signed the band—described the shows as a “religious spectacle.” And that atmosphere wasn’t just inside the stadium. Fans walked from across the city, crowding the streets of Moss Side and Rusholme. “It was just a buzz,” recalled Cheryl McMahon, a lifelong City supporter and former designer for Nike and adidas. “It’s only when we were walking to the stadium that we were all like, ‘Oh yeah, this is special.’”

For those who were there, the memory lives on in detail. Not just the sound, but the clothes, the colours, the feeling of seeing your world reflected back at you on a giant platform. “It was like seeing two people like you having a laugh up on that stage,” McMahon adds.

 

“The atmosphere was unbelievable. Maine Road was always good at keeping the sound in.”

— Lee Sharpe, former Manchester United footballer (Mundial Magazine)

 

The Pac Jac was part of it. Worn on stage by Noel Gallagher, its lightweight build and utilitarian shape made it an unlikely standout. But this wasn’t styling by committee. It was the kind of piece you wear without thinking—practical, familiar, and easy. The kind of thing that ends up defining an era without meaning to. Forest Green one night. True Red the next. And now, nearly 30 years later, comes the encore—the Maine Road Edition.

Exclusive to Penfield.com, this new Sky Blue and Dove release nods to the colours of the club, the stands, and the city it all happened in. The internal label is stamped with a tribute to Maine Road itself—one last detail for those who know.

 

 

“The gig was predominately made up of working-class kids like myself. That era felt like such a positive time. I'm in my mid-40s now, and we have never had anything like that in music since."

— Leah Walker, Oasis fan (British Cultural Archive)

 

And as Liam Gallagher later put it, “To play at the ground of the football club you’ve supported all your life is without doubt the icing on the cake.”

This isn’t just a reissue. It’s a tribute. A reminder of what that time meant, and who it belonged to. For those who were there—or those who wish they had been—the Maine Road Edition is for you.

 

Available exclusively at Penfield.com

On Sale 11.04.25