It was not until October when, following an invitation to play at Chris Chinchilla’s farewell party, the band took the decision to carry on as a three piece (with drum machine).
After a few shaky gigs, Billy Ruffian came to embrace the new technology and ‘Death of a Band’ finally found an official release on Filthy Little Angels’ Christmas compilation "Hark!
Some other sources, however, were not so charitable; the band was also derided as a "pseudo-public school" outfit led by "some faux dandy in a cheap suit".
Following the departure of Sam, the group struggled on with temporary bassists for a time before finally splitting in the summer of 2011 due to "irreconcilable sexual differences".
Following singer Stephen's disillusionment at the poor quality of various live acts he was watching in 2013, he put out a call to his former bandmates to see if they wished to rehearse again.
Both Thom and Rob answered in the positive and, with one of their temporary late-period bassists in tow, they began rehearsing again in June, and subsequently writing new material.
This was followed in 2014 by a recording session, resulting in the "Carry On Billy Ruffian" EP released in June 2015, shortly before the band played the 'Going Up The Country' festival.