Guitar that sparked Oasis’ breakup is up for sale

A guitar that shattered and led to the break-up of Oasis’ Liam and Noel Gallagher will be auctioned off in Paris next month with other rock relics.

According to Jonathan Berg, a guitar specialist and cofounder of the Artpeges gallery sponsoring the auction, the crimson Gibson’s destruction at the French capital’s Rock en Seine event in 2009 was “a cult moment” in music history.

The auctioneers expect bids for the instrument to exceed 500,000 euros ($540,000) at the May 17 auction, with a starting price of 150,000 euros ($160,000).

The notoriously combative Britpop superstars were set to perform at Rock en Seine near the end of a year-long worldwide tour, but Berg claimed “things had been boiling for a while between the two brothers.”

“It blew up backstage, one of Noel’s guitars shattered, and the band disbanded as a result.”

The announcement that Oasis was no longer in operation startled the throng who had been expecting for the pair to come.

Years of public jabs between the brothers via the press and social media followed the dramatic breakup, which have since died down.

Noel looked out a guitar maker to fix his shattered instrument, eventually deciding on Philippe Dubreuille, a London-based French luthier, two years later.

Berg’s companion, Arthur Perault, claimed the musician “got rid of it in the end because it reminds him too much of Oasis.”

A set of bondage gear worn by Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore in a 1980s photograph is also up for sale, although it’s anticipated to garner far lesser prices.

A rare vinyl signed by Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Hallyday, a legendary French rocker, is also up for grabs.

Hendrix signed the album following a 1966 show in Nancy, where a fan of “Johnny” went to a cafe to see her idol, but instead discovered his supporting act, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, who were then unknown.

In 2011, Yazid Manou, a French Jimi Hendrix enthusiast, put the owner in touch with Hallyday to finally complete the autograph collection, 45 years later.

Both artefacts are projected to fetch up to 12,000 euros at the auction.