The Automatic lose keyboard player

The Automatic's keyboard player Alex Pennie has left the group after "growing apart" from the band over the past year.

Pennie, who is famed for his energetic and acrobatic onstage performances, played his last gig with the Welsh rockers at the Get Loaded In The Park festival in August.

Rob Hawkins, James Frost and Iwan Griffiths, the remaining musicians in the 'Monster' band, are reportedly heading out to the States to begin work on their second LP.

In a message on their official website, the band said: "Alex Pennie, who's been in The Automatic since 2003, played his last gigs with the band at the recent Get Loaded In The Park festival (25th - 26th August) and has left due to finding the last year increasingly unenjoyable and growing apart from the rest of the band."