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Noel Gallagher’s Gibson ES-355 which was smashed on night of Oasis breakup sells for €385,500
The red Gibson’s destruction was hailed “a cult moment” in music history.
Image: Artpèges
Noel Gallagher’s Gibson guitar, which was smashed in 2009 on the night Oasis broke up, has sold for €385,500 at an auction in Paris on Tuesday.
The famous red Gibson ES-355 was broken backstage at the 2009 Rock en Seine festival in Paris, where Oasis was booked to perform.
Jonathan Berg, a guitar expert and co-founder of the Artpèges gallery that held the auction, called the Gibson’s destruction “a cult moment” in music history.
The British band had been slated to play at the festival towards the end of their year-long Dig Out Your Soul global tour but “things had been brewing for a while between the two brothers,” said Berg.
“It exploded backstage, one of Noel’s guitars got broken and that led to the group breaking up.”
Fans who eagerly awaited the pair’s appearance were instead told that Oasis was history.
Noel later announced his departure from the band, saying he could no longer work with his brother Liam. The dramatic split set off years of public spat between the two, which continues even today.
The guitar, which was restored in 2011 by a French luthier, was presented with its original case and a note from its former owner, signed “Peace, love and bananas”. With a starting price of €150,000 ($160,000), the auctioneers said the guitar could have fetched bids as high as €500,000.
Arthur Perault, another co-founder of Artpèges, said he was “pretty happy” with the session.
A total of 85 lots were auctioned on Tuesday at the Hotel Drouot, the main Paris auction site, including 1960s amps, a bondage suit worn by Martin Gore of Depeche Mode, silkscreen prints of Pink Floyd albums and photos of rock stars.