Matt Tong yearns for freedom

Formed in 2003, Bloc Party quickly became a staple of British alternative rock, with their skilful blending of the sounds of Joy Division, The Cure, Sonic Youth and more recently Radiohead. However, the London-based four-piece seems to be suffering from the oversized ego of its leader and singer, Kele Okereke, which is making drummer Matt Tong edge towards the exit. Tong has just announced that he is thinking about leaving the group at the end of the current tour - permanently rather than just as a break.

To explain his potential departure, Matt Tong mentions his ongoing incompatibility with Kele Okereke's way of working: "Kele is an insatiable workaholic and creating is something he is so connected to. As for me, I don't know, I wouldn't mind trying something else for a while." Is that a polite way of describing the frontman as a tyrant?