Had he not recently had an abcess removed, we'd have no hesitation in describing the Stereophonics' treatment of their drummer Stuart Cable as a shafting. Cable had had an operation to deal with his discomfort, and was about to rejoin the US tour when his "mates" in the band said "No, pal, take a while to get back on your feet." No sooner had he gone "righto, then, I shall", but Kelly Jones was issuing a tear-stained statement saying how he was really upset, right, but he had no choice but to sack his-friend-since-school because of "commitment" issues. Unsurprisingly, Cable is a little taken back by all this and talking about calling in the lawyers; he refuses to accept that he's been kicked out of a band that he helped create. There's precious little original about the Stereophonics, and if all this sounds familiar, it's because the 'phonics appear to be replicating the behaviour of the Libertines with their singer Pete Doherty - also ill, also kicked out by the old chum he'd set the band up with in the first place. That tale, of course, went on to embrace housebreaking and prison, but we somehow doubt Jones et al will manage to rise that far above their usual, fairly dull behaviour.

We'll be keeping an eye on this on No Rock, you can be sure.