By Monk
Frontman Spike has been sacked from The Quireboys, the band he founded in 1984. This leaves the band with no original members in the current line-up.
In a simple statement, the band said:
“The Quireboys have parted company with Spike and will continue as a 5 piece with all other current members.“
The statement was accompanied by a photograph of the remaining members, which suggests the move had been in the pipeline for some time, even though the band had been announcing new shows, including festival appearances, as late as last week.
The first hint that something was amiss in the Quireboys came last month, when they performed on the Monsters Of Rock Cruise minus Spike, with guitarist Guy Griffith handling vocal duties:
A few hours after the announcement, Spike wrote on his Facebook and Twitter pages:
“Just to clarify, I have received a letter from 3 of MY band members informing me that my services are no longer required to sing or perform with them. I will release an official statement shortly but for now, my sincere apologies go out to you all and I would like to express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to all my fans who are supporting me through this difficult time. Many of you I have known for years and consider my friends. Thank you for your love and support. Rest assured I will see you at the bar very soon.”
He signed off as “The Quireboys founder, only original member and singer“.
The Quireboys’ first ÜK show without Spike is at Belfast’s Empire Music Hall next Friday (8 April). They then play the HRH Blues festival in Sheffield the next day.