By Monk
Former Quireboys frontman Spike has spoken at length about his dismissal from the band he founded.
In a detailed counter-statement to that issued by his former band mates yesterday (Tuesday 5 April), the singer said:
“Once again, I find myself having to clarify points made about me that are untrue, misleading and somewhat dismissive – and at a time when I have aimed to be dignified, respectful – and avoided proactive attempts to make divisive statements.
“Personally, in recent weeks I have been focussed on supporting two dear friends who are seriously ill and, well, there are sometimes more important things in life than shouting about band line-ups. Given what so many people have been through in the last two years, I’m sure many will understand the need for empathy, dignity and perspective.
“First and foremost, I would like to put the music fans first and thank the Quireboys fans from the bottom of my heart for the enormous show of friendship and support in the last week. It has meant so much at a difficult time and I’ve needed some time to process the shock of events in the last week. However they now try to re-cast events, I was not expecting their letter and it had a brutal, cold conciseness to it that was so sad.
“Looking forward, I would like to make clear that I have not resigned or walked away from my own band, The Quireboys, and I have no intention of doing so. As the founder, only original member and singer of The Quireboys, this is my band, I created the intellectual property that made the band distinctive. Further, I hold the trademark to the Quireboys name and I also have the name registered with Companies House. My former band members, I believe, work under a different business name – not the Quireboys. With Guy Bailey, I penned the benchmark Quireboys songs – such as Hey You, I Don’t Love You Any More and 7 O’Clock – which have defined the band musically for decades and, to this day, remain the hallmark songs of any Quireboys show.
“During lockdown, the band was inactive as a touring entity and various things made us grow apart, which was sad. I invited them to play the Dice FM show which was declined. As lockdown ended in early Summer 2021, I set out to do some informal acoustic shows to help get people back into small, local venues. To be clear, the Quireboys were not touring at this time and were in fact rescheduling shows into 2022. They were not active. I was greatly saddened at this time that there were attempts and threats by a band member to disrupt these shows, specifically of me doing some impromptu gigs as Spike from the Quireboys – which I have always been. Subsequently, I was shocked to then find myself locked out from The Quireboys social media accounts without any explanation. It was around this time that I went into the studio to record the vocals for the re-recorded version of ‘A Bit of What You Fancy.’ Despite writing these songs with Guy Bailey, no one personally sent me a copy of the final recordings or artwork. In my mind this said a lot about a lack of friendship or respect towards me.
“Things like this add up and, sadly, change the dynamic between members of a band. The attempt with today’s Facebook post to discredit me is riddled with inaccuracies. I’m shocked and appalled some of my former band members think it’s fair game to say anything about me they see fit, whether it’s true or not. To some, the post may read like an attempt to claw back favour after the understandable fan reaction to their decision to sack me last week.
“Despite the breakdown of relations during the pandemic, band members have seemingly booked some shows without my prior agreement. I understand they now need to honour these commitments but they will need to move forward under a new name.
“I will return with a new Quireboys line up. In fact some of you will probably recognise a few of them.
All that’s for another day. For now, I have some solo dates to play, some personal matters to attend to – and then it’ll be time to plan the new era for the Quireboys. I would never quit the band that’s been my life, in the same way I’d never walk out on my fans that rightly expect me to front a band I started – a band called The Quireboys.
“I will be seeing you at shows and at the bar for a drink very soon.”
It looks like this is a dispute which is likely to rumble on for some time, and one which will not end amicably.
Meanwhile, The Quireboys have cancelled their planned appearance in Belfast this coming Friday (8 April). At the time of writing, it is unclear if they will still perform at the HRH Blues festival in Sheffield the following day.