The Beautiful South have split up after 19 years together.
The band rose from the ashes of The Housemartins, two of whom, Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway, formed the outfit in 1988.
The Beautiful South scored their first hit in 1989 with 'Song For Whoever' , which reached Number Two. They then scored their only Number One single in 1990 with 'A Little Time'.
They also had three Number One albums - their hits compilation 'Carry On Up The Charts' in 1994, 'Blue Is The Colour' (1996) and 'Quench' (1998).
The band issued a statement explaining the split saying: "The Beautiful South have split up due to musical similarities. The band would like to thank everyone for their 19 wonderful years in music."
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