Former members Chris Hutton - Vocals Founder member of The Rain in 1990. This was the band which was the precursor to Oasis, and was formed by Hutton, Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs and Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan. These three were later joined by Tony McCarroll on drums. Hutton has now co-written a book about his experiences. In it he rues what might have been, and is scathing of the way he was treated by Arthurs and McGuigan in particular. For more details see Books An article about Hutton's role in the band based on the book and including pictures of the early Rain appeared in Select in December 1998 Tony McCarroll - Drums Having survived the loss of Hutton, a change of name for the band, and the recruitment of Liam and Noel, McCarroll lasted only until April 1995 before ejection. Played drums on the "Definitely Maybe" album and the "Some Might Say" single. Apparently unwanted and unloved for some time before, it has been alleged that Noel was scathing of his technical ability, and that Liam simply disliked him.

He started legal proceedings for a share of the band's future record sale royalties, since when a partial payment on account of past royalties due has been made. The case was set for a full High Court hearing in March 1999, but in the days leading up to the hearing the case was settled on terms which seemed to be disadvantageous financially to McCarroll. Articles about the case appeared in The Times and The Guardian Scott McLeod - Bass Guitar The band were due to play four dates in the UK to be followed by a US tour in October 1995. Although never strictly a member, Oasis set off with him as stand-in for McGuigan whilst the latter took an enforced sojourn due to "nervous exhaustion". McLeod, formerly of the Ya-Ya's but by then with Saint Jack, apparently finds the pressures of stardom too much, and after completing the UK dates and just five of the US dates quit the tour abruptly and flew home. The rest of the tour wass cancelled, though a dejected band played a prestigious Letterman television show in New York as a four-piece with Bonehead on bass.

Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs - Rhythm Guitar Bonehead was a founder member of Oasis and its predecessor, The Rain alongside Chris Hutton, Paul McGuigan and former-drummer Tony McCarroll. Following the arrival of Noel into the band, Bonehead became van driver, tour manager and peace broker between the occasionally-warring Gallagher brothers. As the band gathered fame, he became renowned for his drinking with Liam, and his outrageous and daredevil stunts in hotels around the world. Already worldly-wise and with a solid building trade background, Bonehead was always seen as the strength and backbone of the Oasis myth. Nine years after the whole story began, the only supporter of Manchester United in the band decided that he wanted to spend more time with his family and informed the rest of the band in March 1999 that his days were numbered. Finishing his guitar parts for the forthcoming album he returned home, and in August 1999 announced his affirming decision to pursue a new career path. Bonehead - definition of bonehead by The Free Dictionary Bonehead - definition of bonehead by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Thesaurus , Idioms , Wikipedia . bone·head A stupid person; a dunce.

bone′head′ed adj. bone′head′ed·ness n. bonehead slang a stupid or obstinate person ˌboneˈheaded adj 1. a foolish or stupid person; blockhead. adj. 2. Also, bone′head`ed. characteristic of or done by such a person. [1905–10, Amer.] bone′head`ed•ness, n. ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend: Noun 1. dolt , dullard , pillock , poor fish , pudden-head , pudding head , stupe , stupid , stupid person - a person who is not very bright; "The economy, stupid!" Translations bonehead [ˈbəʊnhed] N → tonto/a m/f Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content . Link to this page: muttonhead References in classic literature ? In those days almost anyone who was not a perfect bonehead could set up as a Wise Man and get away with it.

View in context The bonehead audience sits there and applauds the show as an educational act And, as Miss Merle Merryweather said: the bonehead audiences, tickled to death, applauded Duckworth's Trained Cats and Rats as an educational act! TODAY'S QUOTES I only played lead guitar in Oasis because nobody else could do it, and Bonehead was bald and that would have been preposterous" Noel Gallagher, on Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs, a founder member of Oasis "I was absolutely wrong about everything" TV's Michael Portillo, a former Tory leadership hopeful, who predicted that Ed Miliband would win the election "Feeling a bit fragile. Oasis Would Reform, Says Guitarist Oasis Would Reform, Says Guitarist Michael Leonard | 03.14.2011 The world is only getting to grips with Liam Gallagher’s new band Beady Eye, but ex-Oasis rhythm guitarist Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs has said that we would rejoin the original band for a charity gig. "I'd play with them for a charity gig, of course," he told the Scottish newspaper The Daily Record. "We never fell out.

People thought we had a dramatic fall-out and a fight but we never." Bonehead was a founding member of the Manchester band, originally called Rain, but left Oasis in 1999. He recently left his latest band The Vortex. But Bonehead recently saw Liam Gallagher’s new post-Oasis band, Beady Eye, play live and says, “I think it's the best I've heard Liam singing, ever. He's totally on form. Beady Eye are just going to get bigger and better.” Liam Gallagher’s Beady Eye have just wrapped-up their first U.K. tour. Beady Eye’s debut album, Different Gear, Still Speeding, debuted at #3 in the U.K. chart. Noel Gallagher , Oasis’s chief songwriter, has still not announced any solo plans. But Noel seems to have many unreleased songs in his locker Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs Tour Dates & Tickets Location: Anywhere in the UK Radius: ... miles Get an alert when new Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs dates are announced Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs is one of the founding members of English rock group Oasis and rhythm guitar player from 1991-1999.

He is almost exclusively known by his nickname Bonehead, a reference to the short back and sides haircut his father made him have when he was young. Arthurs left the band in 1999, during the recording of Oasis' fourth album. Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs tour dates listed on Ents24.com since May 2008. Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs Tour Dates Track Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs You are tracking Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs Fans of this artist also track: Receive email as soon as new tour dates are announced 1,337,183 fans now rely on Ents24 alerts Alerts are free and always will be! We never share details with 3rd parties Bassist Paul 'Guigsy' McGuigan Quits Oasis - MTV mtv archive-Chris-Nelson 08/25/1999 Brit-pop stars Oasis suffered their second defection in less than three weeks Wednesday (Aug. 25) when bassist Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan announced he is leaving the group. Guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs revealed Aug.

9 that he had quit the band, saying he wants to spend more time with his family. "Paul has finished his work on the recordings of the new album and feels now is an opportune time to leave before the band undertakes touring and promotional activities later on this year," the band's UK label, Creation, said in a statement. No reason was given for McGuigan's departure. Oasis' fourth studio album is due in early 2000. Representatives from Creation could not be reached immediately. Oasis leaders Noel (guitar) and Liam (vocals) Gallagher called a press conference for 3 p.m. London time Wednesday. "The remaining members of Oasis have accepted Paul's decision to leave at this time," the statement said. "He'd like to thank the fans, as well as everyone he's worked with along the way, and wishes Oasis all the best for the future." Last week Creation spokesperson Johnny Hopkins denied rumors that former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr had signed on to replace Arthurs. He said there are no plans to bring a new guitarist into the band, although Oasis might hire a temporary replacement for touring. There is no word on the possibility of a replacement for McGuigan.

In 1995, Oasis became worldwide stars with (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, which contained the hits "Wonderwall" ( RealAudio excerpt ), "Don't Look Back in Anger" and "Champagne Supernova." Their latest release, The Masterplan (1998), included 14 B-sides, including "Acquiesce" ( RealAudio excerpt ), and compilation tracks. 11th September 1999 "Bonehead Talks" Ex-Oasis guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs has spoken exclusively to The Maker about his reasons for the band. We tracked the founding Oasis member down at his luxury �600,000 home in the leafy Manchester suburb of Bowdon to find out what he's up to and why he decided to leave. Bonehead told The Maker: "I've got no plans, I'm just having some time out Right now, I'm having sausage, chips, beans and egg with my kids. There's no animosity and there was no fight with the band, it was just the decision I came to. I wish them all the best.

I want to do other things in my life and everyone in the band has respected that." Bonehead also confirmed Noel Gallagher's explanation that the exit was down to his young family. "I convinced myself, but that was my major reason," he said. We also asked him for his thoughts on the new Oasis album. Bonehead told us: "I've not beard any of the mixing, but from what I beard in France during the recording, it�s brilliant. I think it�s the best material Noel has ever written and everyone else will agree." door stilI open to return to Oasis. "I don�t know," said Bonehead. "I'd say so. I�m sure if I walked in with my guitar the job." He also confirmed that he would not be involved in promoting the record when it is released next year. "That�s me out," Bonehead said. "I can�t go out promoting it." The rhythm guitarist founded the band then called Rain - in 1991 with bassist Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and drummer Tony McCarroll. The three then recruited Liam Gallagher and changed their name to Oasis, before Noel stepped in and took charge of the music.

Guigsy walked out of Oasis two weeks ago, just a week after Bonehead left. But Bonehead denied any "pact' between himself and Guigsy. "Guigsy's decision came after mine," he said. "I don't know if I kick-started that. I can't speak for Guigsy." Bonehead has found the perfect retreat from his bell-raising days in Oasis. He now lives in his recently built luxury house in Bowdon, eight miles outside of Manchester and a million miles from Burnage, where he grew up. He is having a studio built in his home and has applied for planning permission to erect a taller fence to shield his home from the gaze of eager fans. A notice tells his neighbours they have until September 14 to make any objections about the 2.9-metre fence to the director of engineering and planning at Trafford Town Hall. But Bonehead, who drives an Aston Martin with personalised "Oasis" number plate, often goes unnoticed in the village, which is also home to Manchester United stars Teddy Sheringham, Roy Keane and the Neville brothers.

Alistair Black, manager of Deckers wine bar, told The Maker: "Bonehead had a pints of Guinness in here last night He a pretty quiet fella. He does talk about band a bit and he said he is building a studio. "The other customers don�t bother him but a lot of the youngsters recognise him. Personally, I'm more of a Rod Stewart than Oasis." Deckers regular Richard De Vere told Maker: "It�s a sexy place, this village. People don�t make a fuss around here. Roy Keane comes in and they just let him get on with it." Window cleaner Derek Cullen works ex-Oasis star's road, but no longer cleans his windows. He said: "I have seen Bonehead here, but he keeps himself to himself. We us to do his house a while ago, but someone else does it now." Mr Cullen added: "They are worth a lot money these houses. Do I like Oasis? Oh yes." We were also on the trail of Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan - he too has retired from Oasis to enjoy family life with his wife and so in an exclusive North-West London suburb.

The bass player and founder member quit the band two weeks ago, which prompted Noel and Liam to call a press conference reassuring the media that Oasis will continue. When The Maker tried to contact the Oasis bass player at his home in the smart neighbourhood, there was nobody in from a cat lazing in the sun out front. Like his mate Bonehead, Guigsy has left his home town of Burnage in Manchester a sophisticated new environment He Iives with his wife, Ruth, and their two-year old son, Patrick. Their home in expensive Mill Hill is in one of the most sought-after postcodes in North London. "Liam Goes Solo" Liam Gallagher has gone solo! He has recorded a Cover of The Jam's "Carnation" with guitarist Steve Craddock from Ocean Colour Scene - and it is released as a double A-side single on October 11 by Ignition. The track, from the long-awaited Jam covers album, "Fire And Skill", is accompanied on the single by Buffalo Tom's "Going Underground". One source who has beard "Carnation", says: "It�s a beautiful song, and it�s got a haunting lilt.

Liam's vocals are very slightly different from what we're used to, but he still sounds definitely like Liam. I think he sounds at his best on it, really." The album is released on November 1. It features Jam mainman Paul Welter himself, playing "No One In The World', with Steve Craddock. Other contributors are Noel Gallagher ("To Be Someone'l, plus Garbage, the Beastie Boys, Gene, Everything But The Girl, Ben Harper and Reef. Meanwhile, as we went to press, Liam had not confirmed reports that he is appearing in a psychological thriller alongside his wife Patsy Kensit. "McCarroll To Rejoin Oasis" Sacked Oasis drummer Tony McCarroll has publicly appealed to the Gallagher brothers to let him rejoin the band. But this time McCarroll wants to replace Guigsy and play bass, according to The Sun. Bizarre editor Dominic Mohan published an open letter from McCarroll, who was a founder member of Oasis in 1991. He was fired after a bust-up with Liam in 1995 and received a �550,000 out-of-court settlement in March.

In the letter, McCarroll writes: "I know you two never thought I was the best drummer in the world, but you might be keen to hear my proposal. I never really thought Guigsy was actually that good a bass player - so I feel I could quite easily step into his shoes. I've been practising and 1 think 1 could give it a good shot." At this stage, no one is taking McCarroll�s appeal for an audition very seriously. A spokesman for Oasis told The Maker: "It was quite clearly written tongue in cheek. I don�t think it was written seriously." And the band played on | Music | The Guardian Oasis And the band played on When Noel Gallagher first heard Paul 'Guigsy' McGuigan and Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs play, he told them "your tunes are shit". But he and his brother joined their band anyway, giving them a piggyback ride to fame and fortune. Now Guigsy and Bonehead have walked out and Oasis will never be quite the same again.

Steve Lowe reports while Nick Kent (below) argues the band lost its way long ago Share on Messenger Close "Me and Bonehead had this band", said Paul 'Guigsy' McGuigan in 1997, reminiscing about the early days of Oasis. "It was just three geezers and a drum machine, trying to do something. We didn't find our feet for a long time. Anyway, Noel came down to the rehearsal one time and said, "Your tunes are shit. I'll show you some tunes." Noel may, then, have had the tunes, but the two figures with the initial vision did not have Gallagher as a surname. They were, in fact, the very same two who have both recently left just left two holes in the band - rhythm guitarist Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs and bassist Paul 'Guigsy' McGuigan. With first Bonehead and now Guigsy taking off for their mansions in the hills, something important has undoubtedly died. For a start, it means that, of the five-piece seen lounging around in that elegant front room (which was Bonehead's, incidentally) on the cover of their classic debut Definitely Maybe, only Noel and Liam remain as members of Oasis .

Drummer and hapless whipping boy Tony McCarroll was, after all, booted out long ago. All this is significant, despite the non-Gallaghers' seemingly replaceable status, because when Oasis emerged to conquer the nation in 1994, they were the rock'n'roll gang in excelsis. There was a clear pecking order of course, but just like their Manchester precursors the Smiths, the Stone Roses and the Happy Mondays, they came across as a fighting unit, possessing that 'us against the world' spirit that all new bands try to adopt but few pull off with conviction. They were mates and, during the Britpop-sanctioned rise of lad culture, that was important. Of course, you could tell just by looking that the non-Gallagher members could hardly even begin to cut it musically. Indeed, on a 1995 Radio 1 interview, Guigsy declared: "When I first started I just played up and down the top string of the bass. Come to think of it, that's what I still do now." That, though, was partly the point.

They weren't like, say, the Smiths - nimble, spry musicians to a man. You could do what they did. Probably better, in fact. But this only helped Oasis establish those everyman credentials that made them the first group to span those generational/class/hipness divides since - yes - the Beatles. What the back three played, heard alone, would be laughable; indeed, pre-Noel demos prove beyond doubt that their spiritual home was the south Mancunian youth club rather than Wembley arena. But underpinning Noel's herculean songs and Liam's aggro-angel vocals, they did sound authentically powerful. For the kind of music they were dealing in - guitar-pop that rarely felt the need to do anything other than what it did in the loudest and proudest of ways - they were perfect. Chris Hutton, the singer they sacked to make way for Liam and a man who used to cover Wild Thing with the line: "Wild thing, you smoke a draw", went on to write a book about how he badly he'd been treated by his mates.

His mates, however, clearly knew which side their bread was buttered on, taking a shine to local Burnage boy Liam - someone who, despite not yet having worked out his trademark style, still had the clearly had enough looks and swagger for the job of being a superstar, and, what's more, knew it. Liam had another asset: an older brother with links, through his job as a roadie for the Inspiral Carpets, to strange things such as studios and decent equipment. Wantonly bringing the Gallaghers into your life is, however, a risky business. Certainly, Bonehead and Guigsy were two of the luckiest people in pop history - taking a proportion of the fortune (an estimated £5m each) and leaving the troublesome business of being inordinately famous to Liam and Noel. But it also meant they had to spend a lot of time with the brothers, living with their strange moods, wild pronouncements, threats (from Noel), tantrums (from Liam) and fevered ambition (both). On seeing the new-look Oasis in rehearsal, Hutton was astonished at the meek manner in which Guigsy took Noel's dictatorial pronouncements.

Former road manager Ian Robertson said of Guigsy how, "more than anybody, Liam's venom poisons and surrounds him". Noel himself, at the press conference yesterday, admitted that there has not been a rush of applicants for the new position, "because us two have got ourselves something of a reputation". On tour, Bonehead would take to alcohol and Guigsy to massive amounts of dope to insulate themselves from such extreme behaviour, but de rigeur rock'n'rolling was taking its toll. During the tour to support (What's The Story) Morning Glory?, Guigsy left the band, complaining of something very like a nervous breakdown. Of this episode, he said: "There was talk of it all stopping 'cos I wasn't there, but it's bigger than that. It was down to me to get me head together." For a gentle, withdrawn figure, being a member of Oasis was, undoubtedly, a hard role to fulfil for any extended period of time. His temporary replacement, one Scott MacLeod, lasted a couple of months, absconding midway through a US tour and taking his place in obscurity.

Whether the remaining three now equip themselves with session musicians (no, they said - that's where the Stone Roses went really awry) or more sympathetic mates of mates (like replacement drummer Alan White), it will be impossible to think of Oasis in the same way. Oasis were all about the contrast between the star players' ruthlessness and edgy attitude and their supporting cast's essential ordinary blokeishness. Perhaps it's the fate of Manchester's musical gangs to end this way when fame overly complicates friendships. The Smiths' legacy has been tainted by a court case that set the captains against the lieutenants, The Stone Roses ended in pathetic disgrace for those who didn't have the sense to leave, and the Happy Mondays - until the mixed thrills of their recent reunion - simply ended up hating each other. Oasis may once again make more startling new music (although they haven't succeeded in doing that since 1995), but Noel and Liam at yesterday's press conference - the odd joke aside - looked as if the stuffing had been knocked out of them. And Oasis without the swagger and unbridled confidence is just not Oasis.

Steve Lowe The defections from Oasis' ranks - first of guitarist Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs and now of bass-player Paul McGuigan - two of the group's stout-hearted , salt-of-the-earth, if instrumentally limited original players - will not be taken well by the fans. But will it deter them from buying future Oasis product CDs in frenzied droves? I doubt it. McGuigan and Arthurs will be missed, certainly, but perhaps Noel Gallagher has more important things to concern himself with than endlessly placating old musical cohorts un-willing to stretch out and explore new musical styles for the new millennium. Neither does it signal the end of the great Oasis phenomenon? That happened in the autumn of 1997 when their third album Be Here Now was released to glowing reviews. Then, people took it home, played it and quickly came to the conclusion that a) it sounded too loud - the excessive volume in the mix drowned out most of the music's natural sonic colour and b) it was too long, weighed down with too many uninspired songs.

I made a TV documentary of Oasis for Canal Plus while the group were promoting the album and had listened to Liam Gallagher calmly inform me: "That's the thing people got to get together - Oasis are the most important band in the world. U2 - they're the biggest but they're not the most important. And they don't have the singer with the most important eye-brows!" However, by the end of 1997, the group had been eclipsed in global importance, class and kudos by Radiohead whose third album, OK Computer, ultimately ran away with all the awards. The latter was adventurous-sounding and looked to the future, for its inspiration whereas Oasis sounded like they were stuck in some time-warp 70s pub, strumming guitars while trying to learn the chords to old Mott The Hoople songs. In the documentary, Creation record boss Alan McGee is seen confidently bragging that Be Here Now would sell 20 million copies worldwide. In the end, it barely did half that business.

More crucially, the group's live shows that year had started sounding a bit lackadaisical; the members played like tired old men dreaming of being back in the old comfy chair with a pint at hand and a game of football on the telly. There had always been a fiercely arrogant side to the Gallaghers brothers; it was part of what made them so attractive. But once that arrogance got mixed up with too much success, cocaine and alcohol, it turned into a kind of sneering contempt. The forthcoming fourth album, finds them paired with a new producer, Mark 'Spike' Stent, best known for his work with the Spice Girls. An MTV reporter cornered Liam at a club during his stay there and the singer informed him that the new record is Oasis's Dark Side Of The Moon. This, of course, could mean anything but Noel's new songs are almost certainly expected to be more 'cerebral' with the arrangements often involving sounds pilfered from dance culture. The music industry is increasingly aware that the old guitars-and-drums formula is old hat. It has become almost compulsory to at least dip a toe into the ocean of the new technology.

Noel Gallagher has worked with the Chemical Brothers and Cornershop and he is an intelligent man who is looking to have a long, highly successful career. He needs to deliver a masterpiece. If he does, Oasis go back to being the darlings they were before Be Here Now. And if he doesn't, then Oasis could well end up being remembered as England's answer to the deeply unpleasant retro-rockers Guns N'Roses. McGuigan and Arthurs, meanwhile, are probably somewhere nice having a drink and watching a football video. Their dreams have all come true. Related stories: BBC News | Entertainment | Oasis continue: definitely, not maybe Thursday, August 26, 1999 Published at 08:48 GMT 09:48 UK Entertainment Oasis continue: definitely, not maybe The show must go on: Liam and Noel Gallagher face the press Pop group Oasis are not splitting up - despite the exit of bass player Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan, the second key member to announce their departure this month. The departure follows that of guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs, who announced he had left the band on 9 August.

"I feel a bit subdued - but they've both got kids, and there's no point in us trying to knock down their doors to get them to stay. "We've got to respect their decision as family men." At a press conference at London's Water Rats venue, he explained: "We knew something wasn't right and we saw it coming, but we didn't expect to be here today saying this." Jokes during press conference The group - now down to Liam and Noel Gallagher and their drummer, Alan White - will audition for two new members and take two weeks off. Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan (left) with Noel Gallagher Noel said: "We are not going to rush into anything.

We don't want to pick the first two people that come along, "It's difficult, because we just don't want to drag session musicians in, because it would look stupid." Liam, who joked with reporters during the press conference, added: "They've got to be a lot taller than me, have nice taste in shoes, have a good haircut and not be Manchester United fans - if you can do that, you're sorted." The BBC's Carole Jones reports: "Some fans also believe it's the beginning of the end" A statement issued by their label Creation Records said 28-year-old McGuigan opted to leave before Oasis became heavily involved in promoting their new album, due out in the New Year. It read: "Paul has finished his work on the recordings of the new album and feels now is an opportune time to leave before the band undertakes touring and promotional activities later on this year. "He'd like to thank the fans, as well as everyone he's worked with along the way, and wishes Oasis all the best for the future.

"The remaining members of Oasis have accepted Paul's decision to leave at this time." Founder of Oasis Along with Arthurs and original drummer Tony McCarroll, McGuigan was one-third of Rain, the Manchester group which became Oasis after they replaced their singer with Liam Gallagher in 1991. Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs (centre) announced his departure two weeks ago McCarroll was sacked in 1995 and replaced with Alan White, while Arthurs left the band in March this year, though it was only announced two weeks ago. He said he wanted to concentrate on "other things" in his life "outside of the demands of being in a successful rock and roll band". In 1995, just as the band were becoming successful in the UK, McGuigan temporarily left Oasis suffering from exhaustion. At the time, Noel Gallagher said: "Paul is Oasis. If he leaves the band is finished. It is that simple." Oasis | Rolling Stone artists > O > Oasis > Bio Oasis Bio Formed by brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher and their Manchester mates, Oasis rose to the top of the British charts in the mid-Nineties with its flair for classic psychedelic pop.

The Beatles-influenced rock of its debut album, Definitely Maybe (1994), made Oasis overnight pop stars, while the Gallaghers' bravado, open drug use, and general disrespect toward any band that wasn't Oasis earned constant media attention. Some detractors suggested that Oasis had merely mastered the musical ideas of others; regardless, they sold millions of albums in the Nineties. Manchester native Noel Gallagher got his first guitar at age 13 and began dabbling in songwriting. His father, who poured concrete by day and was a C&W DJ by night, left the family while Noel was still a teenager. At 18 Noel was caught burgling a house, but he soon found work as a roadie and spent the next four years touring with Inspiral Carpets. His younger brother, Liam, meanwhile, started singing in a band with friends Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs (guitar) and Paul McGuigan (bass), later enlisting drummer Tony McCarroll. When Noel returned to Manchester with a batch of new songs he had written, he offered to take creative control of the band, by now called Oasis. They agreed and began rehearsing.

At an early show in Glasgow, Scotland, they were discovered by Creation Records founder Alan McGee, who immediately offered them a contract. In 1994 Oasis released Definitely Maybe (Number 58 U.S., Number One U.K.), which became the fastest-selling debut album in British history at the time. The band quickly won the attention of the British music press with its blend of Sixties pop, Seventies glam, and the sneering attitude and bravado of punk. But some critics complained that the music was derivative, noting that "Cigarettes & Alcohol" blatantly stole the opening riff from T. Rex's "Bang a Gong." Oasis was later forced to change some lyrics to "Shakermaker" after a lawsuit filed by Coca-Cola charged the band with lifting the melody and some words from its jingle "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing."' (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (Number Four, 1995) was greeted warmly by both fans and critics.

It included the hits "Wonderwall" (Number Eight pop, Number One Modern Rock, 1995) and "Don't Look Back in Anger" (Number 55, 1995) as well as the seven-minute epic of psychedelic pop "Champagne Supernova" (Number One Modern Rock, 1996). Trouble loomed, however: Liam was arrested for suspicion of cocaine possession, public feuding between the Gallaghers became a frequent occurrence, and Noel quit that year's U.S. tour. Be Here Now (Number Two, 1997), with its Seventies arena-rock sound, was met with mixed reviews and relatively disappointing sales. The Masterplan (Number 51, 1998), a collection of B-sides and non-album tracks, found the band in a holding pattern. Oasis reconvened in 1999 in France to begin recording an album with sessions now conducted under a new no-drinking policy. Before sessions were finished, however, both Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs and Paul McGuigan had quit (the other original member, McCarroll, had been fired following the debut album).

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants (Number 24, 2000) demonstrated club-culture influences and sold fewer copies than any Oasis album. For the first time, a Liam Gallagher songwriting credit found its way onto an Oasis album: the sentimental "Little James." Relations between the Gallaghers remained combative on the band's subsequent tour, with an argument in Barcelona resulting in Noel's return to England. The tour continued, with guitarist Matt Deighton (Paul Weller, Mother Earth) filling in for Noel. The absent bandleader worked on a side project called Tailgunner, but returned to Oasis in time for a pair of shows at London's Wembley Stadium, where Oasis recorded the two-disc live album Familiar to Millions, which barely dented the U.S. Top 200. Oasis replaced its departed members with former Heavy Stereo guitarist Colin "Gem" Archer and former Ride guitarist Andy Bell (switching to bass) for the 2002 album Heathen Chemistry (Number 23).

Like Shoulders of Giants, Chemistry also featured a song-penned by Liam, the single "Songbird." The tour in support of Chemistry was no less problematic than the group's previous dates: In December, Liam, White, and members of the group's entourage were involved in a brawl at a Munich nightclub, which resulted in Liam getting several of his teeth knocked out. Although the story originally held that the group was attacked by "gangsters," the assailants were later revealed to be estate agents and computer salesmen annoyed with the group's antics in the bar. The fracas led to the group canceling the last few dates of their German tour. When drummer Alan White left the band in early 2004, the band replaced him with Ringo Starr's son Zak Starkey, who had been playing with the Who. Oasis' next album, the contract-fulfilling Don't Believe the Truth (Number 12, 2005), was mired in a long and painful birthing process. The album was originally set to be produced by Tim Holmes and Richard Fearless of the group Death in Vegas, but the process proved problematic.

In July, Noel wrote a letter to the NME in which he said the sessions were "frustrating and fruitless," and that the group had scrapped a year's worth of material. Their set at that year's Glastobury festival drew heavily on hits, and was regarded by many sources as uncharacteristically limp. The group continued to struggle on their sixth record, turning production duties over to producer Dave Sardy. The album was finally released in May 2005, and it turned out to be a commercial and critical comeback, hitting the top of the UK charts and entering the US charts at Number 12. The group followed the album with their most aggressive tour since Definitely Maybe, including sold-out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden and L.A.'s Hollywood Bowl. In 2006, the band released the compilation Stop the Clocks. The following year, Oasis won the Brit Award presented to musicians for their outstanding contribution to music. The group experienced yet another roster shakeup in May 2008, when Zak Starkey left the band after several arguments with the Gallaghers, to be replaced by drummer Chris Sharrock.

Dig Out Your Soul, the band's seventh studio effort, was released in October of that year and duplicated the chart success of its predecessor, hitting Number One in the UK and cracking the US Billboard Top 200 at Number Five. The album was heavily promoted in the US, most notably in a marketing strategy where buskers in New York City were hired to play songs from the album out on the street. Oasis also made headlines when Noel Gallagher was attacked onstage during a show in Toronto, with his injuries resulting in the cancellation of several shows prior to the release of the album. The group found themselves once again at the center of a media circus that summer, when Noel criticized organizers of the Glastonbury Festival for booking Jay-Z as a headliner.

Speaking to the BBC News, he insisted that the festival had a tradition of guitar music, adding, "I'm not having hip-hop at Glastonbury — it's wrong." In retaliation, Jay-Z opened his Glastonbury set by playing a portion of "Wonderwall" on an acoustic guitar before launching into a spirited version of his own "99 Problems." Noel later backpedaled somewhat, admitting that he liked Jay-Z's music, though he still disapproved of his appearance at Glastonbury. The group toured for the better part of 2009 before unraveling completely in August of that year. After a backstage altercation at the Paris Rock en Seine festival, in which Liam smashed Noel's guitar, the elder Gallagher quit the band permanently, stating "I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer." Liam defiantly insisted that, should he fail to come up with something else, he would retain the name Oasis, and that the group's remaining members hoped to produce a new record sometime in 2010. He also expressed the desire to play live again, though stated those shows wouldn't feature any material written by Noel.

Portions of this biography appeared in The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001). J. Edward Keyes contributed to this article.

Question: Of which band was guitarist Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs a founder member?
Answer: Oasis