Shane Richie and his son Jake Roche have been dropped by their respective record labels.
The ‘EastEnders’ actor’s 2017 album ‘A Country Soul’ only reached number 42 in the UK chart, and now Warner’s East West Records have reportedly given Shane – who is best known for portraying Alfie Moon in the British soap – the boot.
According to a source, the 54-year-old star is to stick with acting after his failed attempt to emulate the success of TV presenter Bradley Walsh, who beat former One Direction star Zayn Malik by selling more albums than him in 2016 with his LP ‘Chasing Dreams’.
An insider told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: "He wanted to try to follow in the footsteps of Bradley Walsh, who had chart success in 2016. But it didn’t work and now he’s focusing on acting again."
As for Rixton singer Jake, 25 – whose mum is ‘Loose Women’ panellist Coleen Nolan – his pop rock band are reportedly no longer with Interscope, who they’d been signed to since their debut album ‘Let The Road’ – which featured the number one single ‘Me And My Broken Heart’ – was released in 2015.
The band – completed by Lewi Morgan, Danny Wilkin and Charley Bagnall – attempted a comeback in December 2016, with the release of ‘I Swear She’ll Be The Death Of Me’, which they released on Soundcloud, and is believed to have been about Jake’s split from Little Mix star Jesy Nelson.
However, it’s not all bad news as Rixton are believed to be joining Polydor with the help of Ariana Grande’s manager Scooter Braun, who helped launch their career by adding them as the main support act for the ‘No Tears Left to Cry’ singer in America in 2015.
A source said: "Rixton still plan on releasing music and Scooter has arranged that Polydor will release their next project."