Clean Bandit violinist Neil Milan has surprised fans by announcing he is leaving the band after seven years. The star, one of the founding members of the group, confirmed his departure in a long social media post, which he shared on Wednesday.
He captioned his message to fans: "Hello everyone, I've decided to leave clean bandit. Here is a little thing I wrote, thankyou for everything."
The electronic group, consisting of Jack Patterson, Luke Patterson, Grace Chatto, are best known for their hits Rather Be, a collaboration with Jess Glynne, and their most recent release, Tears, with X Factor's Louisa Johnson.
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Clean Bandit violinist Neil Milan has surprised fans by announcing he is leaving the band
In the lengthy post, he said: "I have learned so much and seen so many things and it will all stay with me forever. Your support for the music and just for me more generally is one of the most insane and amazing things I have ever experienced."
The talented musician, who also goes by the name Neil Amin-Smith, also thanked his ex-boyfriend and Years & Years singer Olly Alexander - claiming he was a "huge part" of his Clean Bandit experience.
Moments after the news broke, Clean Bandit wrote on their official Facebook page: "It is with great sadness that we must announce that our performances of Tears over the Summer were Neil's last shows with Clean Bandit.
"Hello everyone, I've decided to leave clean bandit," he told fans on Wednesday
"He told us recently that he has decided to leave. We have had a wonderful ride together and we are extremely excited to see what he does next. We are also very much looking forward to our upcoming shows and to sharing our new music with you.
"Thank you all for your support during this time, and thank you Neil for being part of this amazing journey. We will miss you a lot on this next chapter and we wish you the best of luck for the future. Jack, Grace and Luke."