Oasis have finally split after Noel Gallagher, the lead guitarist and songwriter, said last night that he was quitting the group.

He and his brother Liam, the group’s lead singer, have long had a tempestuous relationship in the band, which released their first album 15 years ago and helped to lead the Britpop era in the mid-Nineties. It was this brotherly tension that reportedly led to the parting of ways.

Oasis had been due to perform at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris last night, but the crowd were told by Celebs Bloc Party, who were due to perform before Oasis, that the band would not be appearing.

Many of the crowd reportedly thought that the announcement was a joke until a message appeared on the big screens saying that Oasis would not be performing due to an “altercation within the band”.

The Scottish singer Amy Macdonald, who was playing in the festival last night, wrote on her Twitter page shortly after 9pm, “Oasis cancelled again with one minute to stage time! Liam smashed Noel’s guitar, huuuge fight!”

In an official statement on the band’s website, Noel, 42, wrote last night: “It’s with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.

“Apologies to all the people who bought tickets for the shows in Paris, Konstanz and Milan.”

Speculation has been growing about the band’s future in recent weeks and was fuelled by the Manchester band’s failure to perform their headlining slot at the V Festival in Chelmsford last weekend, saying that Liam had laryngitis.

In an interview with NME magazine this month, Liam was asked if he would oppose Noel taking time off from the band to pursue a solo career. He said: “If it makes him happy, yeah, if it makes him happy.

“If it was up to me I’d have six months off and then get straight back in the studio and make records. That’s what I’m in Oasis for. I’m not here to f***ing sit around for five years twiddling my thumbs.”

Liam, 36, had taken to his Twitter page earlier this week to dispel rumours that the band were due to split and to apologise to fans at the V Festival.

As well as paying tribute to the bands who covered Oasis’s slot and apologising for having “given you sh*t” in the past, Liam wrote: “Finally reports in smartarses column about Oasis last British gig ever. The kids talking out his arse, I mean rkids, bware of darkness. LG.”

Liam had revealed earlier this month that he and Noel were no longer on speaking terms and while on tour travelled separately, seeing each other only on stage.

Oasis came to national attention in 1994 with the release of their single Supersonic, which was followed by the album Live Forever, which reached No 1, later that year and (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? in 1995.>>TimesOnline