Pogues Not Disbanding After 'Farewell Christmas Tour'

Despite recent reports that the Pogues' upcoming Christmas tour will be the famed band's last, guitarist Phil Chevron says that's not the case. Taking to the band's official forum, Chevron has dubbed that proclamation little more than a "marketing ploy" by his bandmates.

"This claim does not come from me and I will neither be supporting it nor discussing it," an irate Chevron wrote of the group's purported final run, which has been billed as their "Farewell Christmas Tour." This quickly led to a clarification from fellow Pogue Spider Stacy on the band's message board.

"This is the last Christmas tour for the foreseeable future," wrote Stacy of the forthcoming seven-date UK tour. "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."

A subsequent, quick exchange of barbs between the bandmates took place, where Chevron added, "As you can see, opinion is not uniform on the matter," Spider felt compelled to calm fan's fears that tensions in the band might lead to the band's demise. "Don't get yer kecks in a twist," he wrote. "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."