BATTLE OF THE BANDS: The bitter rivalry...

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: The bitter rivalry between Britain’s top two bands, Blur and Oasis, has reached new heights--or lows.

Oasis’ Noel Gallagher, asked by a reporter for the respected Sunday paper the Observer about the members of Blur, said of singer Damon Albarn and bassist Alex James, “I hope the pair of them catch AIDS and die because I [expletive] hate them two.”

In response, Andy Ross, head of Blur’s British label, said, “Their capacity for saying stupid things doesn’t cease to amaze me.”

Robin Gorna, spokeswoman for the leading British AIDS charity, the Terrence Higgins Trust, said, “I realize that pop groups are competitive, but do they actually understand what they’re saying? I wonder what their fans, some of whom may have the disease, are thinking right now.”

Gallagher’s gaffe rounded out a bad week for Oasis, which lost out on the prestigious Mercury Music Prize that went to Portishead’s “Dummy.” Oasis’ debut, “Definitely Maybe,” had been expected to win the award, which honors the outstanding work by a British or Irish act in the preceding year.