Ukulele pop & rock from The

DEAR RE-ENTRANTSHEADS,

It's almost six years since we had our first tentative jam, and decided, on that first day, that it might be a laugh to do a few gigs. Since then we’ve had a fantastic time, met some wonderful people, made lifelong friends, and had some amazing experiences. Neither of us has ever been in a band that's gone on for so long, done so many gigs in so many interesting places or been quite so much fun before. We've played with some of the world's finest exponents of the instrument we love above all others. It's all been an unexpected bonus, for what was essentially a piece of silliness to have become such a huge part of our lives, socially, professionally and musically. We’d like to thank everyone who came to the gigs, booked us to perform, took a risk on us, bought the CDs, let us sleep on their sofas and helped us in so many ways. We’d particularly like to thank Alli Burke, without whom we would never have got together in the first place, and The Lancashire Hotpots for taking us all over the place, putting us in front of huge audiences, and most of all for the backstage larks.

George Hinchliffe of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain said of us: "They transcend the limitations of the ukulele', and we're honoured to have had something like that said of us. As players, however, we always want to grow, to push it further. Try as we might, there's no way to transcend the limitations of Britney Spears. We feel we've taken that road about as far as it will go for us.

The world is different from those early days. What was once a loose collection of oddballs has grown into a global phenomenon. And in a global phenomenon it isn't long before commercial interests start to take notice. As long-term jobbing musicians, we've always had a commercial interest in music - it beats starvation. However, once the commercial potential starts to eclipse the reasons you're a musician in the first place, it might be time to take a long, hard look at yourself and the road you are travelling.

So we've come to a decision. We're going to have a whale of a time for the rest of 2012, celebrating the last six years - and if you want to join us, we'd love to see you. It'll be your last chance to see us. In the New Year, it's a new start. We will no longer be gigging under the banner of ‘The Re-entrants' from 2013 onwards.

You may think we're mad for slaughtering a cash-cow, but music is more important to both of us than anything. The Re-entrants was always more than a band. We’ve spent a lot of time in each other’s company and, unlike some bands, we’re lucky enough to have become firm friends. We’ve always enjoyed playing music together, and we will continue to play and perform together, just not within the context of Rock and Pop covers. Apart from anything else, the vocal gymnastics required to do it aren't sustainable. Something's got to give, and we'd rather it wasn't Ian's already-damaged diaphragm.

We’re not abandoning the ukulele- we love it (whether it’s popular or not) and we’re really looking forward to playing it new ways, but maybe we won’t be playing just uke. Come and join us in seeing the band out in style for the rest of the year, and in the words of Spinal Tap:

"We hope you like our new direction."

Phil and Ian.