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Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher made a surprise appearance at Sunday’s One Love Manchester benefit concert.
The English singer, 44, was met with plenty of cheers and applause from the crowd as he began his performance of his band’s song “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star.” He then launched into his solo song “Wall of Glass.”
Gallagher, 44, was born in Manchester and Oasis is one of the city’s most famous exports, so his presence at the charity concert was surely special for the fans in the audience. Despite many fans’ hopes, Liam did not reunite with his brother Noel Gallagher for the concert. (The pair have a famously contentious relationship that broke up Oasis in 2009.)
Sadly, he did not get to sing one of the band’s most famous songs, “Don’t Look Back in Anger” — a song that has become associated with the unified response to the Manchester attacks — as Coldplay performed it earlier in the evening. (After the concert, cars could be heard in the parking lot blasting the song, sparking many more sing-alongs into the evening.)
However, Coldplay’s Chris Martin joined Gallagher onstage to perform “Live Forever,” a particularly touching moment during the concert that closed out his short set.
Gallagher joined the A-list group of musicians set to perform on Sunday, including Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, Usher, Take That, Coldplay, Niall Horan, Robbie Williams and more.
While fans were delighted with Gallagher’s performance, the overall mood at the concert was especially somber after a terrorist attack in London — which left seven dead and 48 injured after three men drove into a crowd and attacked with knives — occurred less than 24 hours ahead of the concert. However, the performers kept the mood upbeat, even if a few did tear up at certain points.
All proceeds from the concert, taking place at the Emirates Old Trafford stadium in the city, are going to the Red Cross’s Manchester Emergency Fund to help victims and families impacted by the May 22 attack in Manchester that left 22 dead and 116 injured. Those who were at Grande’s original gig — which is where the Manchester bombing took place — were offered free tickets, and additional tickets sold out in just six minutes.
The show is expected to raise around US$2.6 million.
This article originally appeared on PEOPLE
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