the dailymash

Tensions within the band were brought to a head after DR670 discovered that the group’s songwriter and guitarist earned greater royalties, leading to the split.

The band cancelled their recent tour after the percussion computer refused to share a dressing room with Ian McCulloch and the pair fought on stage, leaving DR670 with injuries requiring minor soldering.

DR670 said: "I'll always love our Ian but I feel we'd drifted apart musically, and he kept forgetting to switch me off at night. It's a total lack of respect for what I've contributed to the band, like my 200 preset rhythm patterns and velocity-sensitive pads."

The DR670 formed the band in 1978 with an original line-up of two metronomes and a sequencer called Geoff. McCulloch was drafted into the band after their first single was described by one reviewer as a 'seriously ill pig shitting on a Bontempi organ'.

By the release of their debut album, McCulloch was writing all of the band's songs and the DR670 was considered as their headline-grabbing wild man, often seen fighting with paparazzi and accompanying glamorous mixing desks to film premieres.

But DR670 has insisted that his new album is the best work he's ever been programmed to do and will eclipse the Bunnymen's back catalogue.

He boasted "There's one track where it goes dumtishdumtishdumtish for ages without me missing a single beat. I'd like to see the floppy-fringed Scouse twat manage that."