WONDERBRAWL

I heard the news today, oh boy, and the news was rather sad. Britain's biggest band, Oasis, have apparently split up after a blazing row between Noel and

Liam Gallagher, rock's famously fiery brothers. If the split is permanent, then this will be the most seismic rock `n' roll break-up since The Beatles went their separate ways back in 1970. And if Oasis really are no more, then it might even sound the death-knell for Britpop.

Here's the story, morning glory: Oasis abandoned the remainder of their US tour on Wednesday, after a huge bust-up between the Gallagher brothers which left Liam in tears and Noel on his way back to Britain. The world's media immediately went into overdrive, with speculation that this may be the final straw that has broken Oasis.

Yesterday the band's record company, Creation, issued an enigmatic statement to the effect that there were no tour dates planned for the immediate future. Nothing about a split. Nevertheless, reporters gathered outside the home of Peggy Gallagher, Noel and Liam's mother, looking for confirmation that the band had split.

If the break-up is confirmed, then there are going to be a lot of distraught fans. Forget Take That breaking up - this one will shake people to the very depths of their souls. Some will be philosophical: it had to happen, it couldn't last forever etc. Others will go into denial: it's just a family feud, they're under a lot of pressure, they'll make up again. Everybody will be looking for someone to blame.

When the Beatles broke up, no-one wanted to believe that the world's biggest pop group would willingly sabotage their own careers. It had to be someone else, an outsider, an interloper. It had to be Yoko Ono. Yesterday, an Oasis insider told Radio 5, BBC's "lads" channel, that the band had a "summit meeting" at their hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina, at which Liam's fiancee Patsy Kensit was present. It was reported that Patsy was refusing to talk to the band and had moved out of Liam's room. However, Noel and Liam's older brother, Paul, speaking from the Gallagher family home in Burnage, Manchester, said: "I'm sure Patsy has nothing to do with it. She is no Yoko Ono."

So who's it down to then? Who would be so wilful, so wanton, so wicked that they would jeopardise the rise of Oasis to being the biggest band in rock `n' roll history? Who would be so careless, so cavalier, so absolutely clueless? You-know-bloody-well-who, and his name isn't Henry Kissinger.

You've watched his increasingly irresponsible behaviour over the past few months and you've seen him sabotage some of Oasis's would-be finer moments. You've seen him smoke, spit, snog, sneer and spill beer all over the tabloids and TV stations. You've been constantly entertained by his uncouth manner and his indifferent attitude. Admit it, you love it when Liam acts the bad boy and you laugh when you read shock horror reports of his latest antics. Well, here's betting that there's one person out there who doesn't find it funny anymore, and he's just told his little brother to stuff it.

Noel Gallagher is Oasis's undisputed leader and also the band's songwriter, so he stands to gain the most from the group's meteoric rise to success. Oasis's first album in 1994, Definitely Maybe, was the fastest selling debut album in British recording history and it set the standard for a record-breaking career. By Christmas it's expected that the band's second album, (What's The Story) Morning Glory? will become Britain's biggest-selling album of all time. Last month the band played two triumphant concerts in Knebworth, in front of 250,000 people. All they need to do now is conquer the US and Oasis will be firmly on top of the world. They are tantalisingly close to the prize, having already gone Top Ten with Wonderwall, and also charting high with (What's The Story) Morning Glory? There's no reason why their glorious achievements of 1996 shouldn't lead to massive fame in the world's biggest rock market. Except: Liam's not up to it.

HE younger Gallagher brother has shown from his recent behaviour that he has neither the mettle nor the maturity, to take on the Yanks and bend them to his wild and crazy will. Noel, Bonehead, Guigsy and Alan White are raring to conquer the US but Liam doesn't seem to be particularly "mad for it". In fact, he just seems plain mad. That's "mad" as in "daft".

First he pulls out of an MTV Unplugged session, claiming to be suffering front a sore throat but sits in the audience smoking fags and swilling beer. Then, 15 minutes before Oasis are due to fly out to the US, he refuses to go, saying he has to find somewhere to live. Some American fans ask for their money back, but Liam rejoins the band a few days later and everything seems to be back on course. However, at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York, Liam tries to do a Sex Pistols on it, spitting and spilling beer, but worst of all, giving a lacklustre performance.

This is not your usual boffo bad boy behaviour, this is just plain skiving off. As the frontman of Oasis, Liam Gallagher is responsible for getting up on stage and singing. Maybe it's the added pressure of being rock's equivalent of Independence Day, maybe it's the cumulative effect of the booze and the fags, maybe it's the (alleged) henpecking he gets from Patsy, or maybe he's just doesn't give a toss. Whatever's to blame, Liam is patently abdicating his responsibility as a pop star and what he needs most (besides rehab, cop-on and some lessons in how to overcome shyness without hiding behind a yobbo facade) is a good, swift kick up his pert little Mancunian butt. Unfortunately, since Frank Sinatra wasn't around at the time, it was left to Noel to take action, so he buggered off back to England. If you had to put up with a little brother who constantly sabotaged you just as you were on the brink of global success, wouldn't you walk off too?

In their early career, The Beatles acted the yob, smoking joints in the Queen's loo, and generally acting like a bunch of schoolboys on a daytrip to Brighton. But even they had to grow up and misbehave in a more adult fashion. There's a fine line between being a rebel and being a tosspot, and Liam may well have crossed it.