Meg White To Tie The Knot

The White Stripes drummer Meg White is to marry her partner Fred Smith later this month.

The White Stripes burst out of Detroit with a clutch of sensational garage-punk anthems and a neat line in red, white and black clothing. Frontman Jack White scored most of the attention with his screeching vocals and ferocious guitar lines, but his 'sister' Meg won admiration as she sat coyly behind the drumkit.

However since the group released their last album 'Icky Thump' in 2007, little has been heard from Meg White. A tour towards the end of the year was cancelled due to the drummer suffering from exhaustion, with Jack White going on to front a number of side projects.

A new albums by The Raconteurs followed, with the guitarist's new band The Dead Weather set to debut later this year. Meg White attended the launch of the new group, but made her first public appearance in some time on the last ever edition instalment of the Conan O'Brien show.

The talk show provided a launch pad for The White Stripes, with the group returning to pay tribute to the departing host.

Now it seems that Meg White is ready to settle down into married bliss. Her partner Fred Smith is also of rock 'n' roll pedigree - his parents were Patti Smith and the late MC5 guitarist with whom he shares his name. Smith Jr is a guitarist by trade as well, playing in such groups as Back In Spades.

Freep.com claims the couple are set to get married in Nashville on May 22nd. Meg White was, of course, previously married to her bandmate Jack White. The pair remain close and her fellow White Stripe is expected to attend the ceremony.

"They don't want it to be a circus," a source close to the couple was quoted as saying. "They want it to be about the two of them."