Oasis singer Liam Gallagher walked off stage after just four songs of the first date of the band's United States tour on Friday after problems with his voice.

The singer, who told the crowd in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that his voice had gone "awry", had been suffering from a throat infection that forced the group to cancel a Spanish show 10 days earlier.

Noel Gallagher played an impromptu acoustic set

But the concert went on and Liam's brother and bandmate Noel continued what fans described as a "once in a lifetime show".

The tour has continued as planned and Liam rejoined the band for the whole of the next date, in Orlando, on Sunday.

The voice problem at the Fort Lauderdale gig, watched by 3,000 fans, was blamed on the long flight.

Some fans described the show as "a flop" and called for a refund, but many said Noel carried it off with an acoustic set which included rarely-performed hits like Wonderwall.

"It was a magical night where my respect and admiration for Noel grew to an even higher level," one fan wrote on the band's website.

The group had been forced to postpone a show in Salamanca, Spain, on 23 July, after doctors ordered Liam to rest his voice.

Lost passport

But the final three dates of the European tour went ahead in Spain and Italy at the end of July as planned.

The US leg of the tour was almost scuppered before it began when Noel realised he had lost his passport just hours before he was due to board the plane.

A spare was kept at his management company's offices - but the US embassy had to rush through a new work visa in just two hours. The process normally takes six weeks.

The problems were the latest chapters in the band's eventful history of touring the US.

Sick

In 1995, a US tour was abandoned after a bassist who had been recruited to stand in for the ill Paul McGuigan walked out on the band.

The next year, Liam was three days late in joining the band in the US because he wanted to stay in London to look for houses with his then wife Patsy Kensit.

The tour was hampered by poor ticket sales, and Noel cancelled the final four shows, declaring he was sick of trying to break the US market.

Their latest album, Heathen Chemistry, is currently at number four in the UK album chart.