Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs

Paul Benjamin "Bonehead" Arthurs (born 23 June 1965) is an English musician. He is the co-founder and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Oasis. Arthurs played with the band from its inception in 1991 until his departure in 1999, rejoining in 2024 for their Oasis Live '25 Tour.

After Oasis, Arthurs formed Moondog One, released albums as part of two duos, Parlour Flames and Phoneys & the Freaks, and has toured with Oasis offshoot Beady Eye as well as bandmate Liam Gallagher's solo band.

Arthurs was born in 1965 at Saint Mary's Hospital in Manchester, the son of Irish Catholic parents. He grew up in Longsight until his family moved to Levenshulme at age nine. He went to St. Peter's Roman Catholic Grammar School in the nearby town of Prestwich. He earned the lifelong nickname "Bonehead" at the age of eight after his parents insisted he get very short haircuts. "It was only my mum and dad throughout my life, really, that called me Paul," Arthurs said.

As a youth, Arthurs took lessons on piano and accordion, and learned guitar by borrowing his older brother's model. He left school in 1981 to work as a plasterer, and started his first band, Pleasure and Pain, in 1984. In the late 1980s, while working as a building contractor, he started a band, the Rain, with his friends Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan, Tony McCarroll, and Chris Hutton.

When Hutton was sacked as vocalist, he was replaced by Liam Gallagher, who suggested the band change their name to Oasis. Gallagher and Arthurs teamed up as songwriters, producing songs such as "Life in Vain", "Reminisce", "She Always Came Up Smiling", and "Take Me". However, the band were still unsuccessful until Liam encouraged his brother Noel, who had just come back from travelling the world as a roadie for Inspiral Carpets, to join the band; the first two songs he presented to the band were "Live Forever" and "All Around the World".

"Bonehead was kind of the glue that held it all together. I would say he was the most forward thinking initially, beause he had been in bands before Oasis. If anything, I would say Bonehead was probably, in the early days, the spirit of Oasis."

On his role in Oasis, Arthurs said: "I always used to say to Noel, 'I'll do the rhythm, mate'. He'd say, 'I'm doing these bits. You just do the barre chords'. And no one could do those barre chords or rhythm better than me". He also played keyboards, including piano, Mellotron, melodica, and Hammond organ on (What's the Story) Morning Glory? In late 1995, bassist Paul McGuigan briefly left Oasis while suffering from nervous exhaustion, and his replacement, Scott McLeod, quit only a handful of gigs into an American leg of the (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Tour. This forced Oasis to play as a quartet, with Arthurs on bass, for their 19 October 1995 appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Arthurs was originally meant to sing lead vocals on "Bonehead's Bank Holiday", a song included on the vinyl version of (What's the Story) Morning Glory? Arthurs went to the pub to loosen up for the vocal session, but returned so intoxicated and unable to perform that Noel Gallagher's guide vocal remained on the released version. Drunken studio chatter from Arthurs and Liam Gallagher was mixed throughout the song.