Yet another Day the Music Died, as SPIRITUALIZED have split up in the strangest of circumstances. Lead guitarist Mike Mooney, drummer Damon Reese, and bassist Sean Cook were abruptly sacked from the band this week by frontman Jason Pierce (while keyboardist Kate Radley, once girlfriend of Pierce and now wife of Richard Ashcroft, apparantly left the band prior to this week's actions.) The sacked members were notified this week by nothing more than a legal document seeking to terminate their "contract" with Pierce. The members had recently signed an employment contract with Pierce which they assumed was a formality prior to the start of recording of what would have been the band's fourth studio album; however, the papers they signed merely provided a tidy way for Pierce to legally axe them from the line-up. Says Mooney to NME this week, 'Basically, it means that we've been completely fucked.' Pierce's publicist maintains that the oft-erratic bandleader is currently working in the studio, and plans to continue recording under the name Spiritualized. The other members, meanwhile, are seeking legal counsel.