The Music to split

After 10 years and three albums, The Music have announced a series of final shows in Japan and England before officially splitting up this summer.

We've come so far together and now it's time to end things the right way and in the place we love the most - onstage playing live.

The band’s last show will be a home town gig at the O2 Academy on August 5.

The Music formed in Kippax near Leeds in 1999 after attending school together and came to prominence in 2002 through their eponymous debut album.

Their song ‘The People’ was a radio hit throughout the world and saw them tour Europe, America, Australia and Japan, where the band built up a huge fanbase.

Two further albums followed; 2004's ‘Welcome To The North’ and 2008's ‘Strength In Numbers’. Over the last decade, the band have played main stages at every major festival from Fuji Rock to Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Reading/Leeds and Big Day Out and sell-out shows throughout the world.

The band said: "We've come so far together and now it's time to end things the right way and in the place we love the most - onstage playing live.

“We're going to give it our all for these last times together and it's going to be emotional, but we’re really glad to get back to Japan one last time where people have been so good to us over the years, and we send our love and thoughts to everyone there who has been affected by the terrible events of March 11th.

“We'll be saying thank you to so many people over these dates and we'll start now by saying thanks to anyone who's been with us on this incredible trip. We're all looking to the future and what comes next, but we'll always be grateful for the years, times and experiences we've shared.

“We're going to make these shows as much of a party as we can, and we hope people turn up to celebrate with us."

The Music farewell tour dates:

July
25 Osaka - Big Cat
26 Nagoya - Club Quattro
27 Tokyo - AX
Tickets on-sale Saturday 23rd April 2011.

August
04 London - Shepherds Bush Empire
05 Leeds - O2 Academy
Tickets on-sale Friday 8th April 2011.