The Beta Band have announced they are to split in a statement on their official website. They will, however, embark on a farewell tour in the autumn and release a compilation of videos later this year.

The statement reads: “All good things must come to an end. And so it is that after eight years of creating consistently innovative music, releasing three critically acclaimed albums and staging some legendary live shows, the Beta Band have decided to call it a day. Sadly, eight years of hard work and critical acclaim but little return in terms of commercial success inevitably takes its toll and a group decision was made to finally lay the band to rest.”

Bassist Richard Greentree added, “The Beta Band apple has over-ripened and become riddled with maggots, it must fall from the tree and let its seeds return to ground.”

Greentree and singer Steve Mason are working on solo albums, while DJ and sampler John Maclean and drummer Robin Jones both plan to stay working in music and also start a career in film (separately as far as we know).

Highly acclaimed, The Beta Band have had a run of bad luck, which has limited their success. The peak of this bad luck came when they discovered that their single Squares was to be released on the same day as I Monster’s Daydream In Blue – both of which used the same sample. They also described their debut album as the worst album released in 1999.