Noel Gallagher: I refused to perform at Olympics because I was asked to mime

Noel Gallagher has revealed that he turned down an invitation to perform at the Olympics closing ceremony after being asked to mime his biggest hits.

He said in an interview for XFM: "I said (to one of the organisers) 'Why do you want me to mime?' and he said 'It's a big gig'. Really? I do this s**t for a living.

"And then they wanted me to do it acoustically - and then they wanted me to mime. And I'm all for miming in TV shows - but if you're in a stadium with 80,000 people and you're pretending? I can play live!”

"I was asked to do it a long time ago and, to be frank, they were being so secretive about it," Noel said.

"I was like 'Who else is playing?' and they were like 'We can't tell you, you've got to sign a confidentiality agreement'. It's like it's the Iran nuclear programme or something.

"In the end, I was just like, you know what, I'd rather watch it on the telly."

Fans questioned Noel’s absence from the show on Sunday after his hit Wonderwall was played by his estranged brother Liam and his former Oasis bandmates, now using the name Beady Eye.

But Noel admitted that he took his time in giving permission for them to play it, making them sweat until 10 oclock on Friday night.

"They had to re-record it and then send it to me. I did play a bit of cat and mouse with them for a few days - I took it 'til Friday night at 10 o'clock before I said yes and they were sh**ting it."

Noel jokingly referred to Beady Eye as "Stratford's finest Oasis tribute band".