One of the stalwarts of British music have called it a day. THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH have split up via an announcement on their official message board. Keeping their always tongue-in-cheek form, the band cite "musical similarities" as the reason for the break-up.

Yes, their music's always been a touch corny, but we've always loved their snarkiness, their spirit, and Paul Heaton's lyrical insight. RIP.

THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH have run into trouble during their US tour. According to a story this morning on NME, the band have lost co-vocalist Jacqueline Abbott for the remainder of the jaunt. The official word at this point is that Abbott had to cancel her role in the tour for "personal reasons." It's to be assumed that this doesn't impact her role in the band - just on this tour. This will be the second time that Abbott has missed out on a US tour - during the band's last trek through the States, she was pregnant and unable to fly.