Some shock news… After 20 years as a band, You Me At Six are set to call it a day in 2025 – but not before they tour the world and say a proper goodbye to fans.
You Me At Six have just announced that they are splitting up.
The Weybridge rock staples – comprised of Josh Franceschi, Max Helyer, Matt Barnes, Chris Miller and Dan Flint – are set to call it a day in 2025, during what will be their 20th year as a band.
Frontman Josh explains that things are all good and it’s simply “time” for it to end, sharing in a statement: “When we started YMAS we were kids. We only ever wanted longevity, to travel and to experience life as a group of friends. We feel like on the eve of our 20th anniversary as a band, now is a good time to call time. We’re in a fortunate position where our fans still want to see us live and come celebrate the life of this band. So that is what we will do for 2024 and 2025. We can’t wait to see our fans on the road.”
They’re yet to announce any of these farewell shows for next year, but in the immediate future of course you can celebrate all things You Me At Six with next month’s 10-year anniversary tour for Cavalier Youth, before the band headline Slam Dunk in May – their last-ever festival appearance.
Kerrang! recently caught up with Josh before the news of the band’s break-up was made public, and he said that they are “all really comfortable” with the decision they’ve made.
“It’s something we’ve been talking about for a couple of years,” Josh said. “Pretty early on in our career, we became quite obsessed with the idea of longevity. We were like, ‘How can we create our own luck and create a space for ourselves so we can have a sustainable business – and I hate that word – to be able to travel and see the world and do it for as long as possible?’ We gave ourselves a target of 20 years, and next year is 20 years of the band. We’ve got to a bit of a crossroads in our lives now where we all love what You Me At Six is, what it has given us, and what we’ve been able to give with it, but we also feel like we’ve done everything we wanted.”
“We always wanted to go out on our own terms,” he added. “No-one’s in the dark about what’s happening, and that means we can enjoy it more. If we were to rock up to Slam Dunk, and be like, ‘This was our last gig, see you later,’ drop the mic and walk off… I think we’re better than that. And I want people to remember our band as being their band.”
Watch this space for more of our exclusive chat with Josh.
Catch You Me At Six on their Cavalier Youth 10th anniversary tour next month:
February
9 Wolverhampton KK’s Steel Mill
10 Norwich UEA
11 Bristol O2 Academy
13 Oxford O2 Academy
14 Middlesbrough Town Hall
15 Aberdeen P&J Live Hall C
17 Liverpool Mountford Hall
18 Portsmouth Guildhall
And see them headlining Slam Dunk:
May
25 Hatfield Park Slam Dunk South
26 Leeds Temple Newsam Slam Dunk North
Read this: Tracksuit bottoms, Nando’s and falling off the stage: Life on the road with Josh Franceschi
