British rockers The Kooks almost broke up following the shock departure of their bassist earlier this year. The band were stunned when founding member Max Rafferty walked out due to illness in October.

And although he soon recovered and rejoined the group, frontman Luke Pritchard insists they couldn't have continued without him.

He says, "I don't think any of us knew what planet we were on. No one knew what was going on. If Max had decided to leave or hadn't come back we'd all have said, 'Max hasn't been there and that's it, we want to go our separate ways'. Definitely.

"When Max first left we all thought, 'Right, we'll stop it,' that was the first thing we thought. But at the end of the day it makes you stronger. We've been through one of the hardest things that any band goes through, ever."

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)