The Pixies Announce Kim Deal Has Left Influential Alternative Rock Band, Split 'Friendly'

Influential alternative rock band The Pixies announced via a statement on Friday that founding member and bassist Kim Deal had left the band. No reason was given for her departure but the tone of the post on the band's website suggested that the split was friendly. 

"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. 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," read the statement. 

Deal responded to a newspaper advertisement for a bassist in 1986, where she met future bandmates Black Francis and Joey Santiago. The group would become one of the most renowned band on the alt-scene, releasing classics such as "Doolittle" and "Bossanova." She would appear under the alias of "Mrs. John Murphy" in the liner notes for the band's early albums. 

The band broke up in 1993 following a growing personality conflict between Deal and Francis. Deal took the time to work more with The Breeders, another alternative rock group that would go on to critical success, which she had founded. The Pixies reunited for touring in 2004, although the group did not release any new albums. The band spent 2009-2011 touring for the twentieth anniversary of "Doolittle," which was released in 1989. 

Deal is currently on another 20th anniversary tour, this one celebrating the two-decade mark for The Breeders' album "Last Splash." The website for Frank Black (aka Black Francis) doesn't indicate any upcoming tour information, but based on the statement from the group, an eventual reunion is a distinct possibility.