At the start of the day it was a vicious rumour, by tea time the subject of an official statement - V2's Stereophonics yesterday sacked drummer Stuart Cable, supposedly due to "commitment issues". Frontman Kelly Jones, who has been friends with Cable since childhood, said the drummer had not been suitably committed to the band since the release of Just Enough Education To Perform in 2001, though he described the decision to actually fire him as "heartbreaking".
In true rock 'n' roll style Cable was reportedly not aware of his sacking until he was called by a friend - BBC Radio Wales presenter Owen Money - for comment. Money claims Cable initially denied the news, but by the end of the day a message from Kelly on the band's website confirmed the decision.
In the statement Kelly told fans: "Me and Stuart started a band when I was 12. Emotionally to me this is heartbreaking, I love him like a brother, but commitment-wise there have been issues since Just Enough Education To Perform. We've tried resolving them but things stayed the same. Myself and Richard miss Stuart already, a band is like a gang and a lot of the time he simply wasn't there, although it was our fault to allow this situation to develop in the first place."
The split is not a big surprise for those close to the band - relationships between Kelly, the creative heart of the band, and Cable have been strained for some time. Many expected the band to split once their initial contract with V2 was fulfilled, especially when Jones embarked on a short solo tour a few years back. While those rumours never came true many will see it as an achievement that the two schoolfriends have remained band mates for this long.
Kelly plans to carry on working with bassist Richard Jones as Stereophonics, with former Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman joining them for live dates. Whether Gorman, or a new drummer, will be appointed if and when more studio work takes places is unclear. Gorman had already filled in on several US shows when Cable's absence was said to be due to "ill health".
It is unclear what Cable may do next, though he has been building a TV presenting career fronting a music show for BBC Wales.