Kim Deal Leaves the Pixies

Bassist Kim Deal has left the Pixies, the band announced. "We are sad to say that Kim Deal has decided to leave the Pixies. We are very proud to have worked with her on and off over the last 25 years," the Pixies said in on their Facebook page. "Despite her decision to move on, we will always consider her a member of the Pixies, and her place will always be here for her. We wish her all the best."

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Deal joined the Pixies in 1986 when she answered an ad in the Boston Phoenix, and used the alias Mrs. John Murphy for the band's early releases Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. Deal also founded the Breeders in the early Nineties while the Pixies were on hiatus; tensions between frontman Black Francis and Deal led to the group's dissolution in early 1993. The band reunited in 2004, and have been sporadically busy since with tours, including one celebrating the 20th anniversary of their 1989 album Doolittle with a lengthy tour. The band has hinted that a new album could be in the works, and a Kickstarter campaign for a photo book of the band's history was just completed early this month.

Deal has been busy recently as the Breeders toured behind a 20th-anniversary edition of their 1993 album Last Splash.