October 21, 2008 14:13

Long Blondes' Kate Jackson working on solo career following band split

Singer speaks about Sheffield band's break-up

The Long Blondes' singer Kate Jackson has revealed that she has been working on solo material following the band's split.

Guitarist Dorian Cox announced that The Long Blondes had split up yesterday (October 20), after he suffered a stroke in June

Jackson told NME.COM that the band initially put off discussing their future following the news of Cox's illness.

"The whole thing with Dorian, we didn't really want to talk about it too much because we knew if we did say 'Dorian's had a stroke' then the inevitable question would be asked about the band splitting up," she told NME.COM.

The singer added: "We weren't ready to answer that question until now. As we're releasing this 'Singles' compilation with Angular [released yesterday] we thought that'd be a really good way to round up everything we've done in the past, say thank you to our fans and to coincide with that we've announced that we were going to break up."

She added: "It was an overwhelming reaction [from the fans]. He [Cox] had so many cards and well-wishers on MySpace and Facebook and on our Long Blondes site as well. It was amazing. I think that really helped him."

Speaking about her solo plans, Jackson added, "I'm writing a lot of lyrics and I'm trying to write music on my own, which is something I've never done before.

"It's very early days though; I mean, The Long Blondes have only just split up."

See NME soon for an interview with Cox about the break-up of The Long Blondes.

To receive the latest news updates every week – plus free MP3s, videos and more – sign up to the NME Newsletter.