Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs, the longtime guitarist for and founding member of Oasis, is stepping away from the band’s current reunion tour to focus on cancer treatment.
“Early this year I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The good news is I’m responding really well to treatment, which meant I could be part of this incredible tour,” Arthurs explained in a post shared to social media on Friday. “Now, I am having to take a planned break for the next phase of my care, so l’ll be missing the gigs in Seoul, Tokyo, Melbourne and Sydney.”
While Arthurs, 60, shared that he’s “really sad to be missing these shows,” he also reassured fans that he’s “feeling good and will be back ready to go in time for South America. Have an amazing time if you’re going this month and l’ll see you back onstage with the band in November.”
Arthurs had not publicly discussed his prostate cancer diagnosis prior to Friday. The musician opened up about being diagnosed with tonsil cancer in 2022, however, reflecting the following year, “I was diagnosed last year [in] March with tonsil cancer, so it was tough, a tough year to say the least, but finished treatment on June 24th. Three months after that I got the all clear.”
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Oasis is known the world over as the supergroup containing the infamously caustic pair of brothers, Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher. But when the band formed in 1991, it included Arthurs and three others — none of which were the Gallaghers. The brothers joined the band shortly thereafter, and by 1994 had become an international success with the release of their breakthrough debut album Definitely Maybe.
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While founding members Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan (bass) and Tommy McCarroll (drums) both left the band in ’90s, Oasis soldiered on, retaining Arthurs and the Gallaghers. The band broke up in 2009, stemming from an argument between the brothers over a show that Liam canceled, an argument that grew so heated it nearly dragged the Gallaghers into a legal battle.
The band stayed broken up until 2024, and announced a reunion tour for this year. Though the three remaining members of the lineup are notoriously mum when it comes to press, meaning the Live ’25 tour the band are currently in the midst of came with very little promotional preamble, the Gallaghers did glancingly address the only force strong enough to bring them back together: Arthurs.
While shouting out their guitarist to the crowd at a July tour date in Cardiff, Noel noted, “If it wasn’t for him, none of this would have happened.”
