INTERVIEWSLong Blondes Break Up!

"We have decided to call it a day," guitarist Dorian Cox wrote this morning, announcing the split of his Sheffield band, mod-pop and indie-rock outfit the Long Blondes, in a post to the group's MySpace blog [via NME.com].

Having suffered a stroke in June, the axeman cited concerns about whether he would ever be well enough to play guitar again as the central reason for the band calling it quits. He also thanked fans: "If it wasn't for you the whole thing would have been pointless." The group released two studio albums, 2006's Someone To Drive You Home and this year's Couples. A collection of their early singles, aptly titled Singles, was made available on iTunes yesterday.