- Music
- 20 Jun 06
As strongly hinted at by Alex Turner in the current issue of Hot Press, The Arctic Monkeys have parted company with founder member Andy Nicholson.
“We are sad to tell everyone that Andy is no longer with the band,” reads the official statement. “Nick O’Malley, who stood in for Andy while he was absent from the recent tour of North America, shall carry on playing bass for the remaining shows this summer. We have been mates with Andy for a long time and have been through some amazing things together that no one can take away. We all wish Andy the very best.”
Asked about Nicholson pulling out of their Stateside visit, Turner told Hot Press: “It was a bit out of the blue, I suppose. We were in Madrid and he said, ‘I dunno, I’m fed up’. Like owt that comes on suddenly, you start thinking about things that have happened before and whether it hasn’t been brewing.
“How is he? Other people have spoken to him and it sounds like he’s doing alright. We’re going to talk about it when we get home and, y’know, see where everybody’s head’s at.”
One assumes from Nicholson’s departure that they weren’t all in the same place.