Refused Guitarist Takes Aim At Bandmates After Being Sacked

The guitarist of seminal Swedish experimental(ish) punk outfit Refused, Jon Brännström, has publicised the fact that he has been fired from the band without "reasonable explanation".

In a lengthy post on Facebook this morning (AEST), Brännström, who joined Refused four years after their inception, in 1995, and remained with them until their split in 1998 and consequent reunion in 2012, expressed his disappointment in the way his sacking went down. According to the guitarist, he never received any kind of invitation to discuss the decision, but ultimately surmising that the whole thing is probably for the best.

"I was fired from Refused a while ago," he wrote. "I wasn’t given a reasonable explanation and wasn’t even invited to sit down and talk about it, so I'm not completely sure why they decided to go on without me.

"We’ve always been better at punk rock than democratic processes and dealing with conflicts, so I guess I’m not too surprised it went down like this. Quite sad indeed, but perhaps it's all for the best."

"What hurts me the most, is obviously the gesture," he continued. "We’ve had our ups and downs, but we’ve made art together and have been tied to together through Refused for twenty years. I used to be proud to call these people my friends."

No, we weren't aware people could be fired from totally dormant bands, either, but there you go. Perhaps Refused truly are fucking dead, to borrow a song title.

Brännström explained that he has "always been more interested in writing music than reproducing it", as well as being "more at home in the studio than on the road", hinting that perhaps relations between the Refused members have been tense for some time.

However, not wanting to dwell on the negative, Brännström then turned his attention to expressing his gratitude to the fans, if not his former friends, saying, "If it weren't for you, Refused wouldn't have happened in the first place".

"You made it happen in the nineties, you made it happen during our reunion a couple of years ago. Touching to say the least. And I know you'll keep it up. Fighting, dancing and creating forever. I know I will. Through my music, through my work, through interactions, through speaking up. Just not through the forum of Refused anymore.

"From the very bottom of my heart, thank you. See you in the pit."