(BANG) - The history of rock is littered with pop stars' rows and ructions. Think of the arguments between The Who, The Kinks and even The Beatles who turned from being cuddly, loveable moptops into scowling enemies at the end driven apart in just a few intense years by women, money and the pressures of fame.

But never has there been such acrimony in a band as that in Oasis between brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher who each see themselves as the kingpins and the dominant spirits of the Manchester group.

Their rows have been legendary and have become almost as talked about as their music which has dominated British rock for 15 years.

Now it looks as if their last row, which took place before Paris' Rock en Seine festival on Friday August 28, will result in the band imploding once and for all.

Just minutes before they were due on stage, the warring siblings got involved in a fist fight which ended with Liam smashing up one of his brother's most cherished guitars, throwing it over a fence and declaring "that's history for you!" The brawl was so bad at one point an onlooker called an ambulance fearing one, or both, of the brothers would end up seriously hurt.

Although it was far from the first time the pair had come to blows, just hours later perceived leader Noel announced he had left the band in a short, succinct and curt statement on their website in which he blamed his deteriorating relationship with brother Liam for his decision.

He said: "It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer."

Noel followed up his initial, somewhat, emotional post with a longer statement seemingly intent on hammering the final nail further into Oasis' coffin.

It read: "The details are not important and of too great a number to list. But I feel you have the right to know that the level of verbal and violent intimidation towards me, my family, friends and comrades has become intolerable.

"And the lack of support and understanding from my management and band mates has left me with no other option than to seek new pastures... I'll see you somewhere down the road. It's been a pleasure. Goodbye. NG."

So it seems that is the end of the road for Oasis. Rumours had been circulating for weeks that all was not well within the camp, and the cancellation of their appearance at Britain's V Festival in Chelmsford at the eleventh hour - officially because Liam had contracted laryngitis, although he was seen drinking into the small hours after finishing the Staffordshire leg of the event - hadn't helped matters leading up to the now already infamous Paris altercation.

The V cancellation also came soon after an interview Liam gave to NME magazine, in which he revealed relations between he and the guitarist were so strained they refuse to travel together and only see each other when performing. He added: "He doesn't like me and I don't like him, that's it."

In many ways the split comes at a strange time for the rockers. Their last album 'Dig Out Your Soul' - as with its predecessor 'Don't Believe The Truth' - was praised by critics, topped the charts in several countries and even gained the band an entry into the higher echelons of the Billboard chart in the US, while their world tour was the biggest and most successful they had ever embarked upon.

Musically things hadn't been as good as this since their 90s heyday when for a few brief years they lived up to their self-anointed billing as the 'best f***ing band in the world'. But although everything seemed to be going well, throughout the tour and promotion for the album, Noel had hinted he could see a life for himself beyond the band, repeatedly revealing his desire to record a solo album and promising to take "five years" away from Oasis while at the same time issuing a veiled challenge to his sibling to prove his musical worth.

He said: "I've got a lot of songs lying around and some of them are really great. But they're not Oasis songs. They're going to sit there and do nothing, so hopefully at the end of this tour I'm going to go and do something for myself.

"It would be really interesting for fans of the band to see how each individual makes up the whole. The last three albums have been three years in between, but I see it as likely to be longer this time. Even before the end of making each Oasis album, I've always started writing the next one, and I haven't this time. I don't want to force it."

Although Liam has so far remained silent on the matter - perhaps hoping this incident will eventually blow over just as all their previous bust-ups have - it seems he is intent on carrying on Oasis without his sibling, even though he is the genius behind their biggest hits.

Liam - as well as bandmates Gem Archer and Andy bell - has been contributing more and more material to the most recent Oasis albums - stand-out moments include 'I'm Outta Time', 'Songbird' and 'Born On A Different Cloud', all of which see the singer in a reflective or romantic mood seemingly at odds with his aggressive behaviour - suggesting the band could continue without their one-time 'commander-in-chief', although the less we remember about his first songwriting effort 'Little James' the better.

Noel used to run Oasis as an autocracy - even though he joined after his sibling when the rockers were known as Rain in 1991 - and perhaps his insistence on a more democratic creative process ultimately led to him being forced out as Liam's position within the dynamic began to match his already massive ego, with the singer believing as well as making Noel's songs come to life he could also match his songwriting abilities.

But when it was autocratic what a band it was. A quick run-through of songs they made between 94-97 shows Oasis is a band that will still be spoken about for years to come.

'Rock 'n' Roll' Star', 'Some Might Say', 'Wonderwall', 'Champagne Supernova', 'Supersonic', 'Live Forever', 'Don't Look Back In Anger', 'D'You Known What I Mean?', 'Slide Away', 'Roll With It' and the list could go on. These are songs that have inspired countless drunken sing-a-longs, been played at endless parties, soundtracked a decade of change in the UK and united thousands of people in one voice at sell-out concerts across the world.

This ability to create a communal spirit is in many ways the skill of Gallagher senior as a songwriter, he has the ability to tap into the mass consciousness. Fascinated by terrace chants when he went to football matches to watch his beloved Manchester City as a child, he has managed to transfer this collective mentality to his music. Oasis are one of the few bands whose songs sound better when experienced with thousands of other people. Although the band themselves are almost statuesque still when playing live, this had the effect of turning the crowd's attention on themselves - making the fans a major part of the show - they have never relied on U2 or Muse style theatrics. On the second night of their recent Wembley Stadium show, Noel refused to sing a single word of 'Don't Look Back In Anger' leaving it to the 90,000 people in attendance to fill in for him - and every single person did, word perfect and united for those few minutes.

But their discography extends way past their Britpop peak. Their latter years have yielding classic moments such as 'Go Let It Out', 'Gas Panic!', 'The Hindu Times', 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out', 'Little By Little', 'Lyla', 'The Importance of Being Idle', 'Falling Down', 'Waiting For The Rapture' and 'The Shock of the Lightning' are all worthy of inclusion on any fan's list of favourite Oasis tracks and have all featured at some point in their live sets during the last nine years.

Oasis are also a band who 'threw away' songs as great as 'Acquiese', 'Talk Tonight', 'Half The World Away' and 'The Masterplan' as B-sides. Good enough to be included on their best of album 'Stop The Clocks' but at the time not considered worthy to make their defining LPs 'Definitely Maybe' and '(What's The Story) Morning Glory?' - which has sold a phenomenal 22 million copies worldwide and is the third biggest-selling LP in UK history - by Noel who when later experiencing writers block during the early part of this decade admitted he thought he would churn out hits forever.

If Paris is to be the last time both Gallaghers were part of Oasis, then their relationship will have imploded in the same manner as the rest of their combustible career. The incidents are numerous; Liam being thrown off a ferry to Amsterdam in 1994 for being drunk, Liam's walking out of their US tour in 1996, Noel quitting the band's 2000 European tour after his brother questioned the legitimacy of his daughter Anais - an insult which provoked a headbutt - Liam losing his teeth in a Munich bar brawl in 2002. It is apparent the good ship Oasis has always ridden choppy waters.

The dynamic and the fire between Liam and Noel was what drove the band on but was what was always going to eventually destroy it. In truth, it is a surprise that the group lasted so long. You don't need to be Sigmund Freud to realise that the core of the problem lies not just in the intense sibling rivalry and jealousy between the two, but the fact that they have never really liked each other even in their childhood years.

Outgoing extrovert Liam always regarded his introverted guitar playing brother Noel as strange.

And Noel , who always believed he was destined for rock greatness, never understood his wild brother who was happiest drinking and living up to the title of rock 'n' roll hellraiser.

Indeed the clues of destruction have been there for many, many years. While at the beginning they may have been forced by their desperation to make the band a success ensured they had to spend time with each other, as the band became more and more successful and their bank accounts swelled they no longer needed to play happy families and hang out with each other.

Perhaps the most telling aspect is that fact that Noel has a two year old son Donovan with his girlfriend Sara MacDonald. Uncle Liam has never met him.

So that's it. The Britpop battle with Blur, shaking hands with Prime Minister Tony Blair, selling out Knebworth, the Lifetime Achievement awards, having the fastest-selling album in UK chart history - the much-derided 'Be Here Now' in case you didn't know - all tales of a defunct band.

Whatever criticism that has been levelled at the band - and there have been many, "Beatles cover band" being the most often used - no one can deny the boys from a council estate in Burnage didn't do well or have a good time doing it. Even if Liam does try and carry on it will be over for most fans and critics. Oasis without Liam and Noel is like The Rolling Stones without Jagger and Richards, The Beatles without Lennon and McCartney or The Smiths without Morrissey and Marr. But it was always going to happen eventually, as someone once sang, "Please don't put your life in the hands or a rock 'n' roll band, who'll throw it all away."



By Philip Hamilton (C) BANG Media International