Beady Eye Live at Rough Trade East, 10th June

"I queued at eleven last night to get a wrist band" said one girl a few spaces behind me in the line outside Rough Trade East.  She had braved the freezing cold all through the night to get her hands on a ticket to Beady Eye's in-store gig to launch their new album 'BE'.  Grown men were squeaking with giddiness at the sight of the great Liam Gallagher through the darkened windows of the East London record store, and I could sense the raised tensions compared to any other small gig that Rough Trade would normally host.

In recent months, I'd seen many an article claiming Liam's loss of voice as he grew older, and I had also read that he had specifically left his vocals on the new album untouched to prove a point.  I couldn't bare the thought of finally seeing my ultimate hero just to discover that his iconic growl had deteriorated over the years - expectations were high.

As lights were switched off and the store music was turned down, the anticipated howls and cheers of "Go on Liam!" and "Liam is god!" were heard bellowing across the tiny venue, and the four band members - Gem Archer, Andy Bell, Chris Sharrock and Liam Gallagher - stepped onstage and sat themselves down on little black stools.  They then continued to play a calm and collected acoustic set consisting of 10 new songs including 'Second Bite of the Apple', 'Flick of the Finger' and 'I'm Just Saying', along with a Beatles cover of 'Cry Baby Cry'. 

Liam's distinctive snarls and whines which had led the path of fame for Oasis were still intact - just as raw and faultless as I had ever heard it through headphones at home.  It left me baffled as to how the tabloids had conjured up the idea of the frontman losing his voice; it was absolutely perfect.

Gem and Andy strummed away on their acoustics to further highlight what seemed to be the keyword of the evening, 'intimate', whilst Chris remained hidden away behind Liam as he tapped on his tiny, makeshift-looking drumkit.  They delivered a perfect performance, and fans couldn't have asked for more.  And if you're a non-believer - if you think the 40 year old has in fact lost his ability to sing - I now have the power to prove you wrong.  Go and hear them and then you'll see.