Oasis To Split: Definitely? Maybe?

Although they have spent most of the summer reminding the world why they are bigger, better and more entertaining than the likes of Coldplay and Snow Patrol, Oasis have also seen their mammoth stadium tour blighted by sound problems and their music overshadowed by the increasingly bitter spats between the Gallagher brothers.

With this summer's Virgin Media V Festival set to be the UK swan song for the band's 'Dig Out Your Soul' promotional campaign, instead of leaving festival goers in no doubt of their brilliance, they left everyone with a bad taste in their mouths and a cloud of uncertainty hanging over them after axing their appearance at the Chelmsford site at the eleventh hour.

The band pulled out of the show on medical advice after frontman Liam Gallagher contracted viral laryngitis. However, the official reason was doubted by many because the singer had appeared in fine form at the festival's Staffordshire site the evening before and was seen drinking into the small hours after coming off stage. A statement issued on behalf of the group also stated he was expected to be fit for the Paris show earlier this week, sparking speculation that Liam and brother Noel had had a serious row that could spell the end of the band.

The cancellation came off the back of an interview Liam gave to NME magazine, in which he revealed relations between he and the guitarist - never a close brotherly relationship - were so strained they even 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."

Liam's tirade at Noel is a testament to just how bad things are within the group. Whereas once the band used interviews as a way to ignite feuds and hit back at their detractors, increasingly this year they have used them as an opportunity to take swipes at one another, fuelled by digs in Noel's often hilarious award-winning blog, with Liam retaliating with acerbic putdowns on Twitter. Although it makes for entertaining reading, it is easy to see why many saw the V festival cancellation as the end of the road for the Manchester legends - in particular as spats between the brothers have come close to ending the band before.

In 1996, they virtually kissed goodbye to any hope of massive American success when Liam walked out and refused to perform with the group, telling the world he "needed to buy a house".

Just a few months after their triumphant Knebworth shows, the group had been due to record an acoustic session for the hugely popular MTV Unplugged series. Liam pulled out of the show, citing a sore throat, leaving Noel to front the group - and to the amazement of fans, performed to a crowd which included the vocalist, who could be seen drinking and heckling throughout the show with his eventual ex-wife Patsy Kensit. Four days later, Liam refused to fly to America with the band, leaving Noel to again act as frontman for their planned arena concerts and, after the singer eventually made his return, tensions were evident as Noel opted to fly back without the rest of the group at the end of tour, sparking speculation, and a frenzy of headlines, that a split was imminent.

The brothers apparently patched up their differences, but, following line-up changes, their future came under threat again in 2000 after a drunken fight between the brothers in Barcelona. Opting to go out drinking when a show was cancelled due to drummer Alan White suffering an arm injury, the night ended in chaos with Noel headbutting Liam after the singer made derogatory comments about the guitarist's then-wife and questioned the legitimacy of the guitarist's daughter Anais. Noel quit the tour, declaring his intention to never again perform overseas, but allayed fans fears that it was the end of the group when he rejoined for the UK and Irish dates that closed the jaunt.

This time, the band are again adamant that the show will go on - eventually - but admit they will be taking some down time before starting work on a new album.

In a bid to quash split rumours, the 'Live Forever' stars have now issued a statement insisting they have a future. "V Festival was always scheduled as the last UK gig for this 'Dig Out Your Soul' world tour," they explained. "Oasis will complete the rest of the world tour in Europe and then take some well-earned time off before they begin to think about the next album and tour."

Liam has also apologised to fans for the no-show, saying he is just as "gutted" as the disappointed thousands and echoed the sentiment of the statement, while also thanking the artists who saw their sets lengthened in a bid to bridge the gap left by their no-show.

Headlining a festival is a daunting prospect for any band - particularly when you've been given just a few hours notice. Nonetheless, second headliners Snow Patrol - who topped the bill at V in 2004 - proved they were more than capable of doing the job, winning the disgruntled Oasis-loving crowd over with their crowd-pleasing set and spectacular light show. Despite taking to the stage to a chorus of boos and chants for the absent rockers, 'Run' singer Gary Lightbody shrugged off the taunts and seemed delighted to have the chance to show the crowd what his band are made of. "Already you're one of the best crowds we've ever played to," he beamed after just two songs. "It's a dark, dark time but we'll try to shed some light on it." As the (admittedly thinned-out) crowd sang and danced along to their hits, the group made sure they well and truly had the crowd's support by displaying an ace up their sleeves -performances of tracks by the band everyone had really wanted to see, giving acoustic renditions of 'Wonderwall' and 'Champagne Supernova' with an accomplishment that belied how hastily assembled the dual addition to their lengthened set had been.

With their musical tribute to the rockers showing a nod of gratitude for being given the headline slot, Oasis hits could also be heard from other parts of the festival site. Perhaps as an acknowledgement of attracting a bigger crowd than they would have done if competing with the 'Supersonic' stars, Keane delighted their followers with a stripped down version of '(What's The Story) Morning Glory' track 'Cast No Shadow', while psychedelic rockers MGMT - playing to the packed-out Arena tent - went one step further and not only covered Oasis were joined by a cardboard cut-out of the absent Liam as they sang 'Wonderwall'.

Away from Oasis' no-show, the festival's biggest talking point was the surprise appearance of Amy Winehouse. On the Saturday (22.08.09) at Chelmsford, it had been rumoured that the troubled 'Rehab' star - who made a lacklustre appearance at the event last year - was set to perform with the Happy Mondays. Sadly, for those who flocked to the Arena hoping to catch a glimpse of the singer they missed out. While they watched the Bez-less Manchester band give an impressive display of their classic hits, including 'Step On', those gathered at the main stage to watch the newly-reformed Specials were treated to the star proving rumours she has "ruined" her singing voice with her drinking and drug taking are wide of the mark as she joined the ska legends to sing on a medley of their hits, including 'You're Wondering Now' and 'Ghost Town'. Explaining the surprise appearance, her spokesperson said: "Amy missed the band's reunion tour. And decided to head to V to catch her favourite artists. Meeting them backstage, they invited her to guest for them and made her dream come true."

In typical Amy fashion, her poised, coherent appearance was later blighted by her drunken antics on stage with pal Pete Doherty.

Wandering onto the Virgin Union stage during the Babyshambles rocker's solo headlining slot, she spent much of it perched on the drum riser after sharing a kiss with the singer which would turn even the most sturdy festival goer's stomach. Calling repeatedly for "guitar solos", Pete was eventually forced to cover Amy's mouth to finish his set in peace as she refused to stop shouting his name down the microphone.

Over on the main stage, The Killers capped off a day of high-quality performances from the likes of Dizzee Rascal, McFly and Razorlight with a hit-laden set, delighting the crowd with a spectacular show worthy of their Las Vegas hometown, albeit plagued by slight sound problems - though they failed to tone down the boundless energy of frontman Brandon Flowers.

Meanwhile, over at the Staffordshire site and without a hint of the way the following day would cast a shadow over the future of the band, Oasis displayed why they are considered one the greatest bands to come out of Britain. Their explosive set saw the gathered thousands clutching one another and singing along to classic tracks such as 'Don't Look Back In Anger' and 'Rock 'N' Roll Star', and they sent the thousands of somewhat refreshed fans into a frenzy with their signature cover of Beatles track 'I Am The Walrus'.

If it turns out the Staffordshire show was the last ever from the band, while the way they bow out may not quite be leaving on a high, it would be a fitting end for Liam and Noel who have spent the best part of two decades creating classic rock 'n' roll fuelled by their sibling rivalry.

By Viki Waters

Although they have spent most of the summer reminding the world why they are bigger, better and more entertaining than the likes of Coldplay and Snow Patrol, Oasis have also seen their mammoth stadium tour blighted by sound problems and their music overshadowed by the increasingly bitter spats between the Gallagher brothers.

With this summer's Virgin Media V Festival set to be the UK swan song for the band's 'Dig Out Your Soul' promotional campaign, instead of leaving festival goers in no doubt of their brilliance, they left everyone with a bad taste in their mouths and a cloud of uncertainty hanging over them after axing their appearance at the Chelmsford site at the eleventh hour.

The band pulled out of the show on medical advice after frontman Liam Gallagher contracted viral laryngitis. However, the official reason was doubted by many because the singer had appeared in fine form at the festival's Staffordshire site the evening before and was seen drinking into the small hours after coming off stage. A statement issued on behalf of the group also stated he was expected to be fit for the Paris show earlier this week, sparking speculation that Liam and brother Noel had had a serious row that could spell the end of the band.

The cancellation came off the back of an interview Liam gave to NME magazine, in which he revealed relations between he and the guitarist - never a close brotherly relationship - were so strained they even 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."

Liam's tirade at Noel is a testament to just how bad things are within the group. Whereas once the band used interviews as a way to ignite feuds and hit back at their detractors, increasingly this year they have used them as an opportunity to take swipes at one another, fuelled by digs in Noel's often hilarious award-winning blog, with Liam retaliating with acerbic putdowns on Twitter. Although it makes for entertaining reading, it is easy to see why many saw the V festival cancellation as the end of the road for the Manchester legends - in particular as spats between the brothers have come close to ending the band before.

In 1996, they virtually kissed goodbye to any hope of massive American success when Liam walked out and refused to perform with the group, telling the world he "needed to buy a house".

Just a few months after their triumphant Knebworth shows, the group had been due to record an acoustic session for the hugely popular MTV Unplugged series. Liam pulled out of the show, citing a sore throat, leaving Noel to front the group - and to the amazement of fans, performed to a crowd which included the vocalist, who could be seen drinking and heckling throughout the show with his eventual ex-wife Patsy Kensit. Four days later, Liam refused to fly to America with the band, leaving Noel to again act as frontman for their planned arena concerts and, after the singer eventually made his return, tensions were evident as Noel opted to fly back without the rest of the group at the end of tour, sparking speculation, and a frenzy of headlines, that a split was imminent.

The brothers apparently patched up their differences, but, following line-up changes, their future came under threat again in 2000 after a drunken fight between the brothers in Barcelona. Opting to go out drinking when a show was cancelled due to drummer Alan White suffering an arm injury, the night ended in chaos with Noel headbutting Liam after the singer made derogatory comments about the guitarist's then-wife and questioned the legitimacy of the guitarist's daughter Anais. Noel quit the tour, declaring his intention to never again perform overseas, but allayed fans fears that it was the end of the group when he rejoined for the UK and Irish dates that closed the jaunt.

This time, the band are again adamant that the show will go on - eventually - but admit they will be taking some down time before starting work on a new album.

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