The day 40,000 suited and booted Edwardians rocked up at Heaton Park's first mega-gig

Next summer hundreds of thousands of Oasis fans will make the pilgrimage to Heaton Park to see their heroes take to the stage for the first time in 15 years.

And in a roundabout way they have a sharp-suited Edwardian shopkeeper from Prestwich to thank.

On September 19, 1909, tens of thousands of revellers flocked to the north Manchester park for a pioneering concert. They were going to see William Grimshaw, the world's first superstar DJ, play opera records on his specially-adapted and extremely powerful gramophone.

It was Heaton Park's first mega-gig. Six days earlier Grimshaw, had been to watch the great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso perform at the Free Trade Hall.

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Inspired by what he'd seen he wanted to share his experience with the public so, a few days later, he organised a gramophone concert of Caruso recordings at the park. Incredibly more than 40,000 people turned up.

Hundreds of faces of Oasis fans the last time they played Heaton Park

Newspapers described it as the 'largest concert in the world' with the trams reportedly struggling to cope with the number of passengers trying to get to the show. In the process Grimshaw, who was later dubbed the 'Gramophone King', became one of the world's first DJs, a kind of Edwardian David Guetta.

And he helped pave the way for events like Parklife and Heaton Park mega concerts from Manc legends such as Oasis, the Stone Roses, New Order and the Courteeners. Photographs from the event show crowds listening attentively, dressed formally in Edwardian suits and dresses, wearing caps and hats.

At the time the Prestwich and Heaton Park Guardian reported of the audience: