So, earlier this week The Pogues announced that they would stage their Farewell Christmas Tour this December, leading some to wonder if this was The Pogues last ever public outing, or just their last Christmas-themed venture, or maybe the end of Christmas as we know it.

Members of the band seem similarly confused. Well some of them do. Given Shane MacGowan doesn't seem ready to disband his band again just yet, guitarist Phil Chevron was a bit confused when the Farewell Tour was announced. So much so, he took to the band's website to declare the tour's name a shameless marketing trick designed to confuse fans into thinking the band were splitting and this was the last chance they'd have to see them live.

Calling the tour a "marketing ploy" by others in the band he wrote on the band's site: "This claim does not come from me and I will neither be supporting it nor discussing it".

But, alas, one of those "others" did force Chevron to discuss it a bit by coming to the defence of the 'Farewell' word in the tour's name. Founding member Peter 'Spider' Stacy clarified: "This is the last Christmas tour for the foreseeable future. That's not to say we won't be showing up at festivals here and there, or maybe even the odd gig around the UK and Ireland and certainly in Europe. But we're tired of dragging our weary, freezing carcasses around these drowning islands every December, so we're going to give it a rest before you get tired of it, too. Go and see The Libertines. They're the best".

So, confusions resolved. But Chevron wasn't completely happy with Stacy's response, returning to the message board to say: "As you can see, opinion is not uniform on the matter. Spider is using the royal 'we' here".

Stacy fired back: "Using the royal 'we'? God forbid a band member would come on these pages and do something like that!"

With fans now worried that, even if the 'Farewell' on the tour poster didn't really mean 'Farewell', that intra-band disputes online might lead to a 'farewell' anyway, Stacy returned online one last time to write: "Don't get yer kecks in a twist. Take a deep breath and flick back a couple of pages and read slowly. Does it say we're splitting up? No it doesn't. And sorry to disappoint but there's absolutely no internal arguments going on, spirits are high in the Pogues camp".

So, that's that resolved then. And with that, farewell.

Chickenfoot, the supergroup featuring Van Halen's vocalist Sammy Hagar and bassist Michael Anthony, and guitarist Joe Satriani may record their second album without the band's founder, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. In an interview with The Pulse Of Radio, Hagar revealed that Smith's commitments to his main band may force him to bow out of the project for the time being.

Hagar said: "Chad's a problem, I'm gonna tell everybody straight up. To me, Chad is Chickenfoot. But the Chili Peppers have been writing for a year and they haven't even started recording, and I just don't see a window now. Cos once they start recording, Chad's never gonna be able to get a break, and then when they're done with that, they're gonna go out on the road for a year and a half. So, we really don't know what to do right now, but I think we're gonna probably play with a few different guys and see what happens".

However, speaking to Billboard, Hagar added that, while the band have written new songs, they don't actually have any firm plans to record as yet, and the other members also have other commitments. He said: "We care, but at the same time [Chickenfoot] is not mandatory. It's not like we feel like, 'Hey, this is our only chance in life.' Everyone's already been there, done that. Chickenfoot is not our bread and butter, and I think that's really important".

Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy and Japan bassist Mick Karn are to reform Dalis Car, the band they created and broke up in 1984. In their brief time together, they released one album, 'The Waking Hour'. Now, Murphy has announced, they plan to begin work on the follow-up.

Writing on Twitter, Murphy told fans: "I will be working with Mick Karn on our second Dalis Car album in September. It's a pleasure to announce".

It was announced via Mick Karn's official website in June that the musician has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. A number of projects by various artists have been launched to help him pay for medical treatment.

So, this sounds a bit familiar. Aerosmith's Joe Perry says the future of his band is looking uncertain and that once their current tour is over everything is "up in the air".

As previously reported, Perry said Aerosmith was on indefinite hiatus last year, after frontman Steven Tyler went into rehab and stopped corresponding with his bandmates. Perry et al started looking for a new frontman until Tyler went legal and brought his band back together in beautiful attorney-led harmony. A new tour followed, but with that now due to end next month Perry is again questioning the future of his band, in part because of reports Tyler has signed up to be a judge on next year's 'American Idol'. 

Perry told Cincinnati.com: "He [Tyler] told me just a couple of days ago he signed his papers to join the show. As far as he knew, everything's set to go. I think everybody's a little worn out. The tour is winding up, and we don't know when we'll work again as band. That part of it is up in the air, and it's starting to hit home".

Good news Dimmu Borgir fans, the Norwegian black metallers have finally announced a replacement for bassist ICS Vortex (not his real name), who left the band last year. The bad news is, the new guy's already quit. Or so it seems.

Therion's Snowy Shaw (not his real name), formerly of Swedish metallers Therion, confirmed on Tuesday that he had stepped in as Dimmu Borgir's new bassist.

However, the next day, Therion frontman Christofer Johnsson issued a statement to Blabbermouth, saying: "We are very happy to announce that Snowy has rejoined Therion. We welcomed him back with open arms, and we will now be making a mix between the new show we had planned, and the last one which involved Snowy. We think the merger between the two concepts will be incredible, and we look forward to taking the band's live performance to the next level".

Dimmu Borgir are due to play The Forum in London on 21 Sep.

Ozzy Osbourne has hinted that he is planning to retire from music, but wants to make one more Black Sabbath album first.

Speaking to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Osbourne said: "We're talking and that's a good sign. We're not at war with each other... I was speaking to [drummer] Bill Ward last night. I've got to speak to the other two. I'm trying to get things done right... I would love to do a killer Black Sabbath album. It would make my life, my whole thing, round up perfectly for me".

The Libertines have posted footage of their rehearsals for their upcoming reunion shows online. Just to prove they are actually getting on with it. That said, most of the video is made up of concert footage from about 2003, so who knows.

Watch the band playing 'Horrorshow', taken from their debut album 'Up The Bracket', here: youtu.be/bmeRTEj2NrI

Interpol drummer Sam Fogarino has revealed that the main reason bassist Carlos Dengler's quit the band was that he no longer enjoyed playing bass guitar. Which is a problem. If your job is to play the bass guitar. Which his was. Do you see?

Speaking to Toronto website EyeWeekly.com, Fogarino said part of the reason for Dengler's departure was that "touring's a bitch", but really it came down to his wider musical ambitions. He explained: "Carlos really doesn't like playing the bass guitar. How integral is the bass to Interpol music? I mean, it's huge. It's a total harmonic component. It's hook-laden. But he really, really didn't like the bass. It's not his instrument of choice, and it definitely wasn't his first instrument".

Thirty years ago, The Buggles - Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes - scored an international hit with 'Video Killed The Radio Star' (also the first ever music video to air on MTV) and went on to release two albums. However, they never got around to playing any gigs, which was a bit of an oversight.

They're going to rectify this, though. Horn, Downes and other original member Bruce Woolley (who wrote most of 'Video Killed The Radio Star' but left the band before it was released) will perform live somewhere in west London on 28 Sep, playing their debut album, 'The Age Of Plastic', in full. The exact location of the show, as well as the names of some special guests who will join the band on stage, are to be announced soon.

The announcement of the gig on Trevor Horn's website stresses that "no tour is planned, no DVD or live CD will be released". Proceeds from the gig will go to London's Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability.

To find out more, email info@ztt.com with the subject 'The Buggles special concert... add me to the mailing list, please!'

Battles have parted company with frontman Tyondai Braxton. The band do, however, plan to continue without him, and finish work on their second album

In a statement, the band said: "Battles and Tyondai would like to let their fans know they have chosen to follow their own musical paths. Due to Battles' ambitions of finishing their second studio album followed by commitments to a full touring schedule in 2011, and Tyondai's own commitments as a solo artist and his desire not to tour, both Battles and Tyondai have decided to move on without each other. It is a sad but amicable split".

But if this means we get more solo albums from Braxton like last year's 'Central Market' then things are looking up.

US-based Lo-fi synth-pop type Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, aka Owen Ashworth, has called time on the project after thirteen years. He'll head out on one final world tour, which will hit the UK and Europe in October and November. Ashworth stresses this is does not mean he's turning his back on music altogether, however.

In a statement on his website, he wrote: "I'd just like to clarify that this doesn't mean that I'm quitting music. I love writing and recording songs, and I hope to make lots more records in my lifetime. But, after nearly thirteen years of being the dude from Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, I'm ready for a fresh start and a new challenge".

Read the Same Six Questions interview we did with Ashworth here: www.theCMUwebsite.com/ssq/casiotone.html

Former Catatonia drummer Aled Richards has been announced as the replacement for Stuart Cable in the late musician's band, Killing For Company.

As previously reported, the former Stereophonics drummer was found dead at his home in the Welsh village of Llwydcoed in the early hours of 7 Jun. He formed Killing For Company in 2006 and the band had been due to play the Download festival the weekend after his death.

A close friend of Cable, Richards will perform with the band as they promote 'Former Mining Town', a charity single released as a memorial to Cable and to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust and children's hospice Tŷ Hafan.

The band's frontman Greg Jones told WalesOnline: "Aled was someone who Stu knew very closely. He's someone who he respected as a musician and they'd been good friends since the Stereophonics' early days when everyone was going mad about Cool Cymru".

He continued: "It may sound corny, but that's how it feels to us because writing and playing these songs with Stuart is all we've really known for the last five years. Replacing Stu was the last thing on our minds and, because we'd been ploughing all our time and energy into promoting the charity single in his memory, it hadn't dawned on us that we'd need someone to drum for us if we got the call to go on TV and radio to promote it".

Finally, he added: "The bottom line is that Aled is someone who Stuart liked and respected as a friend and as a musician, who we can all talk about Stu in front of without him ever feeling uncomfortable. Besides, he's got some brilliant stories about life on the road with Stuart that put ours to shame. I just hope everyone realises this is a decision we've not made lightly. Stu wouldn't have wanted us to give up and I know we can do him and his fantastic talent proud".

'Former Mining Town' is available now.

I have a feeling there'll be a lot of to-ing and fro-ing on this story. Beach Boy Mike Love has denied there are any firm plans for a full Beach Boys reunion - including three founder members Love, Al Jardine and Brian Wilson - to mark the band's 50th anniversary next year.

As previously reported, US entertainment journalist Robin Leech claimed last month that Love had told him such a show was in the pipeline, but then Love himself issued a statement denying there were any plans for Brian Wilson to join him on a Beach Boys tour. Then last week Jardine himself said that at least one big anniversary show, involving him and Wilson, was in the pipeline, and that he was pushing for a full tour.

But while Love, who has continued to tour as The Beach Boys throughout his life, has not ruled out working with Jardine and Wilson again, he insists nothing has been planned as yet. He told Reuters: "There have been a lot of ideas floated, but nothing decided. So far it's just conversation. There are no big plans yet - although there's a lot of interest from a lot of people to see what would happen if we got together and did some new music and maybe did some shows. But so far nothing's firm".

Rumours that all the surviving members of The Cars are planning to reform have been doing the rounds after a picture of them playing together in a studio was posted to their Facebook page two weeks ago.

The photograph shows guitarist and vocalist Ric Ocasek, lead guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboard player Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson (who retired from music after the band's split in 1988 and opened a restaurant) with bassist Greg Hawkes standing in for Benjamin Orr, who died from pancreatic cancer in 2000.

Asked if rumours of a reunion were true last week, Hawkes told the Boston Globe: "I hate to be vague, but I really can't say. It's a crazy world".

It's a full moon tonight, so surely time for another "Rolling Stones to split" rumour? And look, here it is. Various newspapers reported this weekend that plans were afoot for the Stones to stage a grand finale tour next year before calling it a day. A source told The Sun: "They're likely to perform in stadiums. It's almost certainly the last full-scale world tour. The band realise that age is creeping up on them. They want to bow out on top of their game, and not short-change fans".

Of course, some might say that if the Stones wanted to "bow out on the top of their game" they should have called it quits a long time ago, though I suppose commercially they are still as big as ever, even if the creative spark has long since been extinguished.

Anyway, like most Stones to split (or Charlie Watts to quit) rumours, there was a quick denial of this story. Ronnie Wood told reporters this weekend he and his bandmates had no intent of calling it a day, saying: "We have all agreed this won't be the last time. Everyone's rocking".

Though Wood did add the band planned to "rock till we drop". So perhaps The Sun's source is right, but knows something the rest of us don't.

So, will the surviving Beach Boys celebrate the band's fiftieth anniversary with a reunion tour that sees both Mike Love and Brian Wilson on the same stage at the same time, or not?

As previously reported, US entertainment journalist Robin Leech claimed last month that Love had told him such a show was in the pipeline, but then Love himself issued a statement denying there were any plans for Brian Wilson to join him on a Beach Boys tour.

But now another founder member of the group, Al Jardine, has seemingly told reporters that a reunion involving him, Love and Wilson is being considered for the big 50. According to Jardine, he and Wilson will join Love and Bruce Johnston, who still tour as the Beach Boys, for at least one big anniversary show, though he says he is pushing for a tour. Another early member of the band, David Marks, will make up the reunion line up.

Jardine said: "We're definitely doing at least one show - you heard it first. It's a big deal. I don't know where it will be yet, but it'll probably be free. Golden Gate Park was mentioned, as was the [National] Mall in Washington DC and the north shore of Chicago by the beach".

He continued: "I want to see a 100-date anniversary tour. I want to go all around the world, but if this is the way it has to be, then so be it. We're going to have to rehearse one hell of a show. My point is, if we're going to rehearse and make this such a wonderful show, we should take it on the road. It's the next logical step and it disappoints me that the other guys don't see it that way. I mean, it really bothers me. I know Live Nation has their fingers crossed we'll hit the road. We've got one show definite, so at least we've got our foot in the door".

But don't go counting any chickens just yet. Brian Wilson's rep Jean Sievers seemed to know nothing about the Beach Boys reunion plans, insisting her man was focused entirely on his previously reported Gershwin album just now. Sievers: "Brian has a big new album coming out in August and that's what he's a 100% focused on".

Former Babyshambles drummer and all round nice bloke Adam Ficek has commented about his recent split from the Pete Doherty fronted band, though only really to say he doesn't want to comment.

Writing on his blog, he said his departure was the result of a "Babyshambles meltdown", adding: "Where do I start? It's been a very dark, miserable and upsetting time regarding the band. Something I feel is an intrinsic part of me has been lost. It's very difficult to go into detail about the situation - it's all a bit wobbly but I'll do my best when things settle a little. Apologies, I know you're all waiting for the gossip!"

Of course, Babyshambles has always had something of a changeable line up, though fans have noticed the changes have been more frequent of late. As previously reported, former Supergrasser Danny Goffey has been filling in on drums for the Babyshamblers since Ficek's sudden departure.

Meanwhile, back in Camp Ficek, Adam announced he was busy recruiting a band for the next live outing of his solo project Roses Kings Castles. He wrote: "I'm just in the middle of sorting the album release tour for November, it'll be full band again for ten dates around the UK. We'll also be doing in-stores and radio sessions as we hit the country. There's also lots of Euro dates and a stint in Japan so get signed up for info. Unfortunately I can't afford to take the band over [for those dates] so it's me solo. But don't worry I've been learning to play tambourine with my left foot, so it's going to be mega".

Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott has announced that the band have decided to go on a year-long hiatus as life together has become too "stressful". Elliott told Metro: "We're taking a year off. After you have a hit like [1987 album] 'Hysteria' and you're signed to the corporate machine it becomes an albatross around your neck. As much as our music is anthemic rock n roll, it's a business at the end of the day. It's stressful and gets harder each time you make a record".

Following speculation that they would split after the death of bassist Paul Gray in May, drummer Joey Jordison has said that Slipknot will "absolutely" record another album.

Last month, guitarist Jim Root told the Sonisphere website: "There's going to be a big healing process that needs to happen before we even think about whether or not Slipknot will continue. And right now that's the furthest thing from our mind".

However, asked if the band would record again in an interview with Fuse TV, as he continues his stint playing drums in Rob Zombie's live band, Jordison said: "Absolutely. I just wanna thank all the fans for their support on my loss. But there will be another record, for sure".

As previously reported, Gray's body was found at the Town Plaza Hotel in Slipknot's hometown of Des Moines, Iowa on 24 May by a member of hotel staff. Toxicology results following a post mortem examination found that he died from an accidental overdose of morphine and fentanyl, a synthetic morphine substitute.

Pearl Jam's US publicist has denied rumours that the band are about to go on hiatus.

As previously reported, local press in Portugal reported earlier this month that frontman Eddie Vedder had told the audience at the Optimus Alive festival in Lisbon earlier this month: "Thank you for coming to our last show; not our last ever, but our last in a long time".

However, Nicole Vandenberg, head of Vandenberg Communications, told Seattle Weekly: "He says that at the end of all tours, because the tour has ended. The remark may have gotten a little lost in translation".

This doesn't change the fact that Pearl Jam really should go on hiatus.