Halite & Warner Music part company

Denying reports that they've been dropped as part of the company's worldwide cost-cutting measures – 1500 Warners employees had their jobs axed last month – Hopkins says: "We asked if they'd release us from our contract and they said 'yes'. Our deal was actually with Warners Ireland who paid for our album, Head On, to be recorded and did a brilliant job promoting it when it came out. The Warner labels in other countries had the option to pick it up, which quite a few of them seemed interested in doing, but this takeover and job cuts business started and everything was put on 'hold'."
The former My Little Funhouse and Therapy? man says Head On not being released overseas is a blessing in disguise.
"To all intents and purposes it was a solo album, which isn't at all representative of what we're doing now as a band," he reflects. "We've 9 or 10 new, really guitar-y songs demoed which companies are asking to hear. So much so that we're arranging an Eamonn Doran's show on March 31 which a load of people are coming over to see."