Fergal Lynch: 30 years since Oasis first played Slane... Where has the time and the £25.50 ticket price gone?

The accelerated passing of time dawned on me all of a sudden this week.

Thirty years ago this month Oasis played Slane for the first time as support to the red-hot REM.

At that time I was 21 years old, world at my feet, still carefree as to what I wanted to do with my life.

Some might say, I just wanted to roll with it at that stage. I was feeling supersonic, life was being lived to the full, cigarettes and alcohol (no cigarettes, never smoked, thankfully) just going day-to-day, little by little.

Another Slane gig, another day of craic was all that was on my agenda in August 1995.

The intervening 30 years between then and now have whizzed by in a flash. The dawning of reality is that by the end of the same period of time from now I'll be 81 - scary.

However, I've no doubt that Oasis will still be central to my musical world in 2055, just as Elvis, Chuck Berry and Dwayne Eddy are to my 85-year-old Dad now.

If I make it that far, I'll be that wrinkly old rocker, still calling for another Oasis reunion, but probably still failing to get a ticket because the world and their mothers all want to see Oasis.

I've been to every Oasis gig in Ireland, bar two. I missed out on the £6.75 tickets for their Tivoli gig in '94 and there was the small matter of an All-Ireland SFC semi-final against Tyrone in '96 that drained my resources and left me short of being able to afford the £22.50 for a ticket to their gig in Pairc Ui Chaoimh, where they were supported by The Prodigy.

In between those shows Oasis' appearance at Slane in 1995, where they were the support act to REM, was the start of the monster shows for the Manchester boys, whose father hails from Duleek and mother from Mayo, neither a stronghold of rock 'n' roll.

Playing to over a quarter of a million fans at Knebworth and 100,000 at Loch Lomond became the norm for the constantly at odds siblings and their band of brothers.

My Slane concert going days are much more refined now. I'm fortunate to get press access to the gigs, so repeats of drinks flagons of cider and cans of Dutch Gold by the side of the road before entering the greatest concert theatre in the world are no longer appropriate, yet still yearned for!

The memories of the Slane gig where Oasis supported REM are vague, whether that's down to the passing of time or the consumption of alcohol is not fully determined.

Flattened plastic cups filling the bright Royal sky, dozens of human pyramids popping up randomly all over Lord Henry's front garden and Bubble's butt walk that entertained hundreds provided the backdrop to a musical extravaganza, headlined by REM, but stolen by Oasis

I've seen Oasis in The Point, in Marley Park, in Lansdowne Road, in Fairyhouse and again in Slane in 2009 just a few months before they split up following another innocuous row between the brothers Gallagher that ultimately proved to be the straw that broke the camels back and Oasis supporters hearts for 16 years.

Their set in Slane in '95 was only 13 songs and included Swamp Song, Acquiesce, Supersonic, Hello, Shakermaker, Roll With It, Some Might Say, Slide Away, Cigarettes and Alcohol, Rock 'n' Roll Star, Don't Look Back In Anger, Live Forever and finished with The Beatles hit I Am The Walrus.

They stole the show like very few support acts have even done at Slane (Robbie Williams in '98 when he outshone The Verve when only third on the bill behind Manic Street Preachers or Pearl Jam when blazing a trail before Neil Young in '94).

This weekend the Manchester brothers with Royal blood return to scene of many great Meath triumphs to play two sold out gigs.

This time the set will be 23 songs deep, starting with Hello and finishing with Champagne Supernova and including a joyous string of hit after hit in between.

Tickets are scarce and the few that were available were priced way outside the original Oasis fans pockets. The band and MCD drew huge criticism for their dynamic pricing policy that left many fans paying over €400 for a ticket. I love Oasis, but they've sold out in more ways than one and while it fractures my heart a little not to be there this weekend, it's hard to justify spending that much money on an experience have had the pleasure of enjoying on numerous occasions and for £25.50 In 95.

Those were the days my friend. If you've never seen Oasis before enjoy every minute, you're in for a treat and my FOMO is off the charts.