Hucknall councillor and band frontman recounts playing Wonderwall with Forest boss Steve Cooper after Wembley win

A Hucknall councillor and band frontman has recounted singing Oasis hit Wonderwall with Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper as the Reds celebrated their promotion back to the Premier League last month.

Councillor Phil Rostance (Con), who represents Hucknall West on Ashfield District Council, is the lead singer in a band with his friends and features in a viral video singing the hit while Reds hero Cooper played the acoustic guitar.

It came during the club's post-match celebrations at a hotel on the University of Nottingham campus, after the squad returned to the city following their 1-0 play-off final win against Huddersfield at Wembley.

Cllr Rostance, who leads the band Phil Rostance and The Marshall Band with childhood friends from Hucknall, performed at the club's celebration party fresh from the Wembley triumph.

The viral video, shared across social media, shows head coach Cooper on stage with the band playing Wonderwall on guitar, with the councillor leading on the vocals and the Forest squad singing along.

Councillor Phil Rostance with Hucknall born Forest captain Joe Worrall and the play-off trophy. Image: LDRS.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cllr Rostance explained how the gig came about and confirmed Steve Cooper already had a guitar pick in his pocket ready for the performance.

He said: "The band had retired but we were called back for this very special gig because Ben Marshall, one of my bandmates, is good friends with [Forest captain and central defender] Joe Worrall.

"We knew Steve Cooper played a bit of guitar because Ben was at a birthday party earlier in the season, which is why we were asked to play at the winner's party.

"On the night we kept giving [Cooper] the eye to come up and he was reluctant because he wants the limelight to be on the players.

"After a bit of cajoling, jeering and shouting, the players finally dragged him onto the stage and we put the guitar around his neck.

"He'd got a plectrum in his pocket and as soon as he hit the first chord of Wonderwall the crowd and the players went absolutely mental.

"It was quite a surreal moment that I don't think I'm ever going to forget."

The band, which has been performing together since 2009, came into the gig fresh off playing at the BOXPARK Wembley venue, off Wembley Way, to thousands of Reds fans prior to kick-off on Sunday.

They had previously done work with Trent FM, arena gigs and shows at the Theatre Royal, but Cllr Rostance said the BOXPARK event was "like nothing else" he had ever done.

"All the fans were there for one reason – for Forest," he said. "To be fair, we didn't have to do much – we started the songs off and it went absolutely crazy.

"When we kicked off the songs and we hit the first chord, the crowd were bouncing with us.

"We did Mull of Kintyre, Rockin All Over The World, Acquiesce by Oasis – pretty much all the songs they play before games and the ones the fans wanted – to try and build them up ready for Wembley."

Cllr Rostance also confirmed the band dedicated American Pie by Don McLean to captain Joe Worrall during their performance at BOXPARK, before the Forest star got on stage to perform it with them at the winner's party.

He adds he would perform for the Forest players again "in a heartbeat" and said his experience over the 24 hours on Sunday was "unforgettable".

The full video of Cllr Rostance and Steve Cooper's performance of Wonderwall can be found on the Garibaldi Red Podcast page on Twitter here.