R6.5m for Gallagher’s guitar

Noel Gallagher’s Gibson guitar, which was broken in 2009 at the same time the British group Oasis imploded, sold for €385 500 (about R6.5 million) at an auction in Paris on Tuesday.

Later repaired, the red Gibson’s destruction at the French capital’s Rock en Seine festival in 2009 was “a cult moment” in music history, said Jonathan Berg, a guitar expert and co-founder of the Artpeges gallery which held the auction.

A flagship of the 1990s Britpop movement built around the notoriously fractious Gallagher brothers, Oasis scored global success, selling 60 million albums and birthing hits like Wonderwall and Don’t Look Back in Anger.

The band had been slated to play at Rock en Seine in 2009 towards the end of their year-long Dig Out Your Soul global tour, named for their album of the same name.

But “things had been brewing for a while between the two brothers”, Berg said.

“It exploded backstage, one of Noel’s guitars got broken and that led to the group breaking up.”

An eager crowd waiting for the pair to appear were stunned to get the message that Oasis was history.

Both brothers have continued making music since they parted ways, but have repeatedly ruled out getting Oasis back together.

The guitar, restored in 2011, was presented with its original case and a note from its former owner, signed “Peace, love and bananas”.

Bidding started at €150 000, selling just above the low estimate of €300 000 plus a fee of €85 500. –