Blondes bombshell

Yesterday's news to those who care, I'm sure, but I was still disappointed to hear that The Long Blondes have split. I knew chief songwriter Dorian Cox's illness had been the cause of their Glastonbury withdrawal (when Blood Red Shoes took the slot and dedicated their set to him), but I hadn't realised he'd actually suffered a stroke. With him undergoing physiotherapy but still unable to play guitar, the decision to call it a day was sadly inevitable.

I still don't own their second LP Couples, having not been that impressed by the singles, but their debut Someone To Drive You Home was great - smart, sassy, sleek, literate, like Blondie covering Pulp. Perhaps the most fascinating thing about them was the words Cox put in Kate Jackson's mouth - it was compelling to witness a strong, confident and (yes) sexy frontwoman singing about envy, paranoia and inferiority complexes in relation to other women.

In other music news, I've got a Glasto ticket! Hurrah! And it was no hassle at all - I registered on Tuesday, had my registration application accepted on Wednesday and bought the ticket last night. Now that a booking reference number has reached my inbox, I'm assuming it's a done deal - famous last words?

One person who may be joining me for the thrills and spills is Beyonce, who's expressed an interest in following in hubby Jay-Z's footsteps. She was there last year and has complained: "I had my wellies and I got my outfit organised but it didn't rain and I wanted the mud!" Yeah, sure you did - you could get helicoptered out of there if the going got really tough. For the rest of us, solid ground and sunshine were a blessed relief.

Who's that coming over the hill? Why it's Paul Mullen, diminutive former frontman of Geordie post-metal loons Yourcodenameis:milo, who's joined ... The Automatic?!

Lastly but not leastly, belated congratulations to Cardiffians Threatmantics, whose Upbeat Love album has been put out by Domino. Now they're labelmates of Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys and playing gigs with Clinic, I doubt they'll be quoting endorsements from this very site on their flyers any more...