Awful news tonight, as THE COCTEAU TWINS have bowed out of their headlining slot at this year's Coachella Festival. The band, who were planning additional live dates in and around the time of the festival, have now cancelled all planned activity. The guilty party in the cancellation appears to be eccentric Cocteau frontwoman Elizabeth Fraser, who, according to the Coachella press release, "has decided that she is unable to participate in the reunion, and apologies for any inconvenience that this has caused."

The release on cocteautwins.com is less inflammatory, but still points towards Fraser as being the cause:

"It is with deep regret that we confirm the news that Cocteau Twins, at the request of vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, have cancelled the planned reunion performance at this year's Coachella Festival on 30 April. No future plans for any reunion are currently being made. Our sincere thanks and apologies to all the fans and media who wrote to us expressing your enthusiasm and support."

Unreal... but then again, it almost was too good to be true, eh? The fan backlash should be pretty wicked on this one... we're heading to the Cocteaus forum to check it out now...

Ever since we (along with every other music site on the planet) reported earlier in the week that the fabled COCTEAU TWINS were reuniting for this spring's Coachella Festival, the internet has been rife with rumors. A new album? A full tour? Warm-up gigs?

Well, the band are working hard to squash most of those rumours with a news blurb on their site today -- assuring fans and the rest of the free world that, for the time being, Coachella is a one-off reunion gig and should NOT indicate any future touring or recording plans. Though leaving us with a tempting, "No one has said, 'Never,'" it makes this Coachella gig all the more important to fans.

Yes, the rumors floating around the internet are true. It's finally been announced this afternoon (UK time) by the Official Cocteau Twins website that the band has indeed reformed and their first date will be the opening day of Coachella.

"Ah, the official announcement. Many apologies to all who tried to get confirmation from us about this...We weren't teasing, it's just that nothing could be announced before the damn thing was confirmed....So, who's going?" -- Robin Guthrie, 1/31/05

A REFORMED Cocteau Twins will be performing at the Coachella Valley Music Festival on Saturday April 30, 2005, along with a number of other artists, including former label-mates Bauhaus, plus Weezer, Chemical Brothers, Wilco, and more. More news and details as they become available.