The 1960 Gibson ES-355, damaged during a heated argument on the night that Oasis broke up in 2009 – however, the band's Wonderwall acoustic guitar, which represents a huge part of the Manchester band’s folklore, failed to sell.
The two instruments were the headline pieces in a bumper sale of Oasis memorabilia as part of Propstore Auction's Music Memorabilia collection. The pre-sale interest in the two guitars, though, failed to hit the heights once bidding began.
The ES-355 was part of Noel Gallagher's rig when the band travelled to Paris to headline the Rock en Seine festival in August 2009. But, as tensions between the Gallagher brothers – which had been bubbling for some time – came to a head, the ES-355 felt the brunt of their frustrations.
“[Liam] goes to his dressing room and picks up a guitar [the ES-355], comes back and starts throwing it around like an axe,” Noel said of their band ending bust-up. “He’s swinging this guitar around, and he nearly took my face off with it. It ended up on the floor, and I put it out of its misery.”
Ironically, the Bigsby-loaded guitar had been bought from a Parisian guitar shop in the late 1990s. It has since featured on the road and extensively in the studio. It sold for £289,900 (approx $386,000) after nine bids, having had an estimate of £250,000-500,000 (approx $266,00 - $665,000).
The Takamine FP460SC acoustic used to record one of the band’s biggest hits, meanwhile, was gifted to an engineer after his Fender acoustic was caught in the crossfire of another Gallagher fallout.
“It was the morning after a heavy night and Liam was worse for wear,” Nick Brine, the engineer, told the BBC. Noel's Fender Jaguar was first smashed to bits by his brother, before he turned his attention to an acoustic, without realizing it wasn't Noel's. The Takamine was then gifted to Brine as a peace offering.
Despite its prestige, it failed to sell at auction. It had an estimated value of £200,000 - £400,000 (approx $266,00 - $532,000). According to Popstore's site, offers are still being accepted for the guitar.
In related news, the mystery Les Paul that Noel Gallagher has been playing during the band’s latest reunion shows has been launched as a signature model on a limited run.
The guitarist has also satisfied the gear nerds by revealing what's currently on his pedalboard.
