Liam Gallagher quit Beady Eye by text message, his estranged brother Noel Gallagher has claimed.
The ‘Greedy Soul’ singer formed the band with the other remaining members of Oasis – Gem Archer, Andy Bell and Chris Sharrock – after Noel quit the group in August 2009 following a backstage bust-up between the brothers before a headline appearance at a Paris music festival.
Beady Eye disbanded in October 2014 after releasing two albums, ‘Different Gear, Still Speeding’ and ‘BE’, and now guitarist Gem and drummer Chris play in Noel’s touring band the High Flying Birds.
The ‘Wonderwall’ songwriter has accused Liam of not having the guts to tell his friends he was walking away from the group to their faces or even in a phone call and instead sent them a message via his phone.
Speaking in the new issue of Mojo magazine, he said: "Listen I know the true story of Beady Eye and how it fell apart. He left the band by text! The Prince of Darkness, The Man, he didn’t even have the balls to phone his bandmates. Because he got a solo deal, it was, See you later, lads. Then when he got his deal with Live Nation, no one was telling him, ‘Don’t do any Oasis songs, do your new stuff, that’s what your good at.’ "
Once he knew that Beady Eye was finished Noel had no hesitation in welcoming Gem and Chris into his group and the timing was perfect because two of his members had decided to quit the High Flying Birds the same year.
The rock legend said: "When I first started [as a solo artist], I had Tim [Smith, guitar] and Jeremy [Stacey, drums], and the great thing about session musicians is that when you’re not sure what you’re doing, they’re bang on it, they make it sound like the record. That’s what I needed at the beginning. But it’s not the same as having a band. Chris and Gem are much looser, it’s not the same every night. Tim and Jeremy left at exactly the same time Beady Eye broke up, so I took that as a sign."
You can buy MOJO 303 in a UK shop from Tuesday, December 18 or order a copy online from www.greatmagazines.co.uk.