Guitar smashed during Oasis breakup row sells for £325,000

It is the guitar that is said to have broken the band. In 2009, just before Oasis were due to perform in Paris at the Rock en Seine festival, tensions between brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher reached breaking point.

A row broke out between the pair and Noel's red 1960 Gibson 355 guitar was badly damaged.

It was described by Noel as his "number one favourite" and Oasis's performance that night was cancelled.

They haven't performed together since.

This piece of music history, that is wrapped up in the now-restored guitar, helped it to reach £326,909 at auction in Paris. All we know of the new owner is that he is a European.

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Music memorabilia expert Laurence Carpenter, who also owns several of Noel Gallagher's other guitars, says that it's very special to own something that represents the break-up of the iconic Britpop band.

"It's the guitar that was the physical manifestation of the break up of Oasis," he said.

"To be able to have something you can hold in your hands that connects you to that important moment in time, as a fan, is like the Holy Grail."

After the 2009 incident, Noel sold the damaged guitar which was then painstakingly restored before the auction.

The selling price was boosted by a hand-written note by Noel that went with it.

He confirmed it was the guitar "that Liam Gallagher smashed up in Paris 2009, the night Oasis split up."

He added: "It was also my #1 favourite guitar."

Noel added it was used for writing, recording and performing live.

The auctioneers behind the sale say that Noel signed off the note with "Peace, Love and Bananas" as a joke, relating to the damage.

"It's about the split," Arthur Perault, co-founder of Artpèges, the firm which sold the guitar, explained, "so Oasis split up, and banana split (the dessert). That's why he signed bananas. I think it's British humour but we love that in France." The restored red 1960 Gibson 355 guitar is now in the hands of its new owner, with the cracks lovingly repaired. The relationship between the Gallagher brothers though is still nowhere near as smooth.