Justin Hawkins has left The Darkness, stating it was down to his addictions to drink and drugs. He said, after a stay at The Priory:
“I feel bad for the others. It will be an upheaval. But it’s time for me to move on. It would be damaging to my recovery to stay on. I’m not blaming the band for my problem – I am an addict. There are people who can be in bands and stay clean, but I’m not one of them.
I feel like I’ve lost three years of my life. I’m only just coming to terms with what has happened because I was always off my face. I became secretive, volatile and verbally abusive, a really unpleasant person to be around.”
Their bassist, Richie Edwards, will take over the vocals for the band. But the real question is… who gives a shit?!
Mark Chapman, the man who killed John Lennon in 1980, has had another parole bid refused. This was his fourth attempt at parole but now he’ll be staying in the Attica Correctional Facility in New York for at least 2 more years. The prison panel concluded that:
The NME is launching an Irish edition, which marks the first time they’ve put out a different edition for an international market. It will feature “dedicated pages focused on the vibrant Irish live music scene, delivering the latest news, features profiles and live reviews from the hottest new acts in the country. The magazine will also be packed with the usual mix of all the best from the UK and international music scene”. 
The Charlatans will be releasing a new CD, Forever. The Singles, which will also contain a DVD which chronicles the band’s journey from 1990 to 2006, and will be out on November 6th. A week later, a re-working of their track You’re So Pretty We’re So Pretty, will be released. The tracklisting for the album is:
Enter Shikari have announced their tour dates, and due to such demand for tickets, their date at the Mean Fiddler on November 4th has now been upgraded to the Astoria. Tickets for the original venue are still valid.
The Blood Arm will be going out on a series of live dates to support their debut album Lie, Lover, Lie, which is out on October 16th. They will also be playing a number of shows with The Sunshine Underground and supporting We Are Scientists. Their dates are:
Boston-based hardcore crew Righteous Jams are set to release their second album, ‘Business As Usual’, on Abacus Recordings on October 27th. Vocalist/guitarist Joey Contrada describes his band’s sound as “hardcore that’s not influenced by hardcore”; and indeed, songs like ‘Instinct And Music’ and ‘Lizards‘ owe just as much to the abrasive hard rock of Soundgarden and Helmet as they do to hardcore heavyweights like Black Flag and the Cro-Mags.
Babyshambles will be bringing out a new release called The Blinding EP, which will include 7 tracks. Bassist Drew McConnell said that it doesn’t count as a full album because it was due to have 11 songs on it originally, though didn’t explain why 4 tracks had been scrapped. There’s no release date as yet but its sure to be gobbled up by all their fans.
Well if the title doesn’t say it all then what the fuck do you want? Well the insanely fast guitars, drum machine and the gnarliest vocals in the world and the longest, most fucked up song titles, prove this to be the best thing since sliced heads.
Surreal & DJ Balance have come out with a cracking new album, Future Classic and have brought their own mix of jazzy vibes and boom bap goodness to the forefront with this release. This track, Permanent Ink, features the vocal additions of Braille and Sivion and is the stand out track on the record.