ROCK fans are preparing to bid farewell to a legendary US band after they announced their retirement.
NOFX have been releasing music for an impressive 40 years but the group’s members have decided it is time to call it a day.
The punk group have all got normal jobs, which they will continue to pursue, but are pulling out all the stops for one final tour for their army of fans.
To ensure they go out with a real bang, they are celebrating four decades in the music industry by travelling to 40 cities – including London – and performing 40 songs at each gig.
Singer-songwriter and bassist Mike Burkett – aka Fat Mike – told the New York Times: “This is it. We aren’t Kiss, or Black Sabbath, or Mötley Crüe. This is the end.”
Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin stared NOFX in 1983, originally using the name NO-FX. They were later joined by drummer Erik ‘Smelly’ Sandin and released their debut album two years later.
The line-up has chopped and changed over the last 40 years but is now made up of Mike, Eric, Erik and Aaron Abeyta – aka El Hefe – who joined NOFX as lead guitarist and trumpet player in 1991.
NOFX have released an impressive 15 studio albums over the years and their best loved songs include Linoleum, The Decline, Stickin in My Eye.
In total, they have performed a staggering 3,000 shows across 33 countries and in more than 600 cities during their career.
But NOFX – who have swapped their past habits of drink and drugs for massages and yoga – have now decided to call it a day.
El Hefe, 58, also told the NY Times: “It’s kind of sad, saying goodbye.
“We’re family. We’re basically brothers. We’ve lived on the road together, on a bus, sometimes in the same bed.”
‘Smelly’ Eric, meanwhile, has described the disbandment of NOFX as “losing a leg”.
Although their touring days will soon be over, the members of NOFX all have day jobs to keep them busy.
Smelly works as a drum technician, El Hefe is forging a career as an actor, Fat Mike co-owns and runs the Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas and Melvin is now a trained life coach.
But despite being approached by big name promotors, NOFX are seeing our their farewell tour just as they always have done – on their terms.
Just last week, they flew to London and performed at the Brixton Academy. And during one gig in the Netherlands, their hardcore fans stood in torrential rain to watch them on a fairly makeshift stage.
“We declined to work with Live Nation or AEG except for a couple of cities,” Fat Mike said.
“And we only play parking lots, campgrounds and parks. Our last three shows are going to be on a pier. We’ve always done things ourselves.”