Noel Gallagher says his brother was the only reason for his departure from Oasis. Photo / Supplied
Noel Gallagher has revealed his brother Liam almost took his "face off" with a guitar the night Oasis split.
The guitarist walked out of the group in August 2009 after a huge fight with his sibling and bandmate before a music festival appearance in Paris - which the rocker says
stems from the singer's decision to pull out of Oasis' headlining slot at the V Festival a week before.
Speaking at a press conference in London yesterday to announce his début solo album Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, he said: "You know he didn't turn up to the V Festival gig because he had a hangover. He claimed he had laryngitis, but whatever. There was a lot of bad press around that and in his own head he thinks I'm some kind of f***ing puppet master who controls the media in England.
"So we get to Paris and he starts reeling off journalists names, and a whole manner of people I've never met.
"He storms out of the dressing room and on the way out he picked up a plum and threw it and it smashed against the wall. Then he leaves the dressing room, and came back with a guitar and starts wielding it like an axe. I made light of it, but it was a real unnecessary violent act and he was swinging this guitar around and he nearly took my face off with it."
In the aftermath of the altercation, Noel made his decision to leave Oasis, insisting his aggressive brother - who went on to form Beady Eye with the remaining members of the group - was the only reason for his departure, and the 44-year-old musician even believes the band may even have stayed together if he had played the remaining tour dates.
He added: "I never had enough of Oasis, I had enough of him. But our own relationship was never as bad as people made out ...
"I regret it really because we only had two gigs left and if I had gone back and done the gigs we would have all gone away and we could have discussed what we were gonna do, we may never have split up, we might have just taken a hiatus and done our own things."
- BANG! Showbiz
