Fall Out Boy, we are reliably informed, have not fallen out - they are on 'indefinite hiatus'. A bit like my drive to be European Footballer of the Year, then.

When news of the split broke towards the end of last year, founder member and bassist Pete Wentz displayed something that the Facebook generation may have struggled to recognise. He showed humility (look it up), which is really very old fashioned.

Wentz said: "My biggest personal reason for taking a break is that I feel my name has become a hindrance for the band." Well, a kind of humility. He added that the (surprisingly tall) Patrick Stump was a musical genius and it was "unfortunate that [Patrick] gets reviewed based on whatever's going on in my personal life or how my hair looks."

"People who read the tabloids probably think all I do is visit Starbucks and hang out in nightclubs." Perhaps Pete hadn't realised that being famous for going to Starbucks or falling out of nightclubs would, in Britain at least, set you apart as a thinker. Probably as a modern intelligent, celebrity who astutely reinvents themselves and manages their unique brand and is definitely not as shallow as a free cosmopolitan.

But Pete Wentz is different. We know this because he has been licking his wounds on the beaches of Jamaica, soaking up a range of cultural influences. And now he's back (bet you didn't see that coming) with his 'alt-pop and ska' band Black Cards. And they sound pretty good, if we're honest.

The three date micro-tour begins at G2 at The Garage on Glasgow on Monday 25th October 2010, moving on to The Roadhouse in Manchester on the 26th, and closing in the capital at the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts) on Wednesday 27th October.

Tickets are on sale now from £9 (Glasgow, Manchester) and £10 (London).