On a statement shared to the bands social media recently on October 21, the Scottish band wrote: “Hello world. Paul is leaving the band. It was a bit of a shocker for us when we found out, so it probably will be for some of you too.”

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Thomson originally joined Franz Ferdinand when they first formed back in 2002, and has been friends with his former bandmates for over 25 years. The statement then continued “We’re glad we shared those adventures and experiences together and look forward to hearing what he gets up to next”. The band of course had to find a replacement and they chose Audrey Tait, who made her debut appearance with the band at a Balmain fashion show in France last month (September 29). You can see footage of that gig below.

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Franz Ferdinand said of the drummers replacement and new band member “After having played with Paul for so long, it’s obvious that not just anyone could sit behind the kit in FF, so we’re happy to say that one of the other best drummers in the world is joining us,”

“It feels totally natural playing with her and she’s a great laugh. It has been electrifying being in the studio together and we can’t wait to play live for you all. Here’s a photo of Paul literally handing his sticks over to her in a windowless rehearsal room.”

Thomson, meanwhile, wrote that the close two-decade run in Franz Ferdinand has “been like a dream, I want to thank each of you that bought a record, came to a concert and shared all these experiences with me, I will never forget it.”

He then finished “Franz Ferdinand was, is, and always will be family and a huge part of me. My words and smile are so easy now.”

Franz Ferdinand released their fifth and latest album, Always Ascending, in 2018. Their most recent release and the final recording that will include the drummer was the single “Black Tuesday” that came out in 2019.

The 25-year-old artist posted an emotive statement concerning his decision.

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During his career, Octavian has released one EP, various mixtapes and multiple singles. The rapper began to gain traction within the industry and became a critical success. The artist’s first mixtape, 22, was released in 2016 under the stage name Octavian OG. In 2017 the first EP Essie World was released and 13 singles followed, one particular single became the catalyst to his rising success. “Party Here” was released in 2017 and sired great attention. In January 2018 Drake posted an Instagram video featuring a sing along to the single, the post went viral and brought Octavian to the spotlight. In August 2018 the artist was signed with the major label Sony/ATV Records.

The former BRIT School student has collaborated with some of music’s most popular artists. On 2019 single “Bet”, the rapper teamed up with Michael Phantom and hitmaker Skepta. Octavian and Skepta worked together again the following year on the single “Pap Chulo”, the track reached number 37 within the UK singles charts.

In 2019 Octavian released the single “Lit” which featured American rapper, ASAP Ferg. The single was taken from the artist’s second mixtape, Endorphins, released on 13th June 2019 via Black Butter Limited. Octavian has also lent his talent to other artists, his most notable collaboration has been with Gorillaz. In 2020, the rapper featured on the group’s single “Friday 13th” taken from the band’s seventh studio album.

The buzz surrounding the artist paid off and the London based rapper won the BBC Sound of 2019 award. Octavian was presented with the prestigious accolade for new artists in January 2019 and was described as a maverick. The winner is decided by a panel made up of 136 industry professionals, each member is asked to nominate three promising acts. In 2019 the panel included prior nominees Ellie Goulding and Stormzy. The title has previously been won by Adele, Haim, Sam Smith and Sigrid. Octavian was the first rapper to win the award since 2003, 16 years prior 50 Cent was awarded the prize. Speaking on his win over two years ago the rapper stated, “That’s lit, I don’t even know how to feel right now… Mum, I made it!“.

Born as Octavian Oliver Godji, the artist faced some controversies during the end of his career. Last year the artist’s ex-girlfriend accused him of abuse, subsequently, the reports led to his debut album being pulled and his relationship with Black Butter ended. Octavian denied all allegations and provided the following statement to the BBC. “I wholly deny Hana’s allegations, which are only one – grossly distorted – side of a troubled relationship. Much of what she has said, and has been reported, has been manipulated or is simply untrue. I will not go on trial by media, but I will repeat that I have not been violent or coercive towards Hana, and I am not a misogynist.”

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Originally auditioning as solo acts, Jesy Nelson, Jade Thrilwall, Perrie Edwards, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock later formed the British girl group known today as Little Mix. Being the first group act to win the X Factor at the time. The band is one of the best-known winners of the X Factor having such an amazing career, having 7 successfully albums (1 of which reached number 1 in the UK), numerous singles with 4 of them being number 1 in the UK, sold-out tours, and as of recently their own talent contestant TV show.

Normally when a member leaves a group it’s due to disagreements or a falling out. With Nelson and Little Mix, however, it wasn’t anything near that. Nelson for a while has been out of the spotlight “Nelson’s decision comes a month after she took time off from the group, citing “private medical reasons” Nelson also missed the final of Little Mix’s TV show. It has now come to light that the reason for being absent was due to a decline in Nelson’s mental health.

In her statement on her Instagram, Nelson said “There comes a time in life when we need to reinvest in taking care of ourselves rather than focussing on making other people happy, and I feel now is the time to begin that process”. Being in the constant public spotlight and “living up to expectations” has taken a massive toll on Nelson leading her to step away from being a part of Little Mix. At first, fans were obviously very upset, but that sadness has turned into an outpouring of support from both fans and now former group mates.  

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Jade, Perrie, and Leigh-Anne all fully support Nelson’s decision to step away from the group. They also made a social media post on the band’s Instagram “This is an incredibly sad time for all of us but we are fully supportive of Jesy. We love her very much and agree that it is so important that she does what is right for her mental health and well-being”. 

Nelson, who has normally been such a formidable force spreading positivity and confidence for women, has seemed to bottle up a lot, and it’s very important for her to take the time for herself to get better. Fans and have shared their hope that Jesy starts to feel better and takes all the time she needs to have some much needed time for herself and her mental health