As of today the Streets are no more. They have ceased to be. Mike Skinner is an ex-Street.
On the eve of his guardian.co.uk/music takeover – which will be running all week from later today – Skinner has decided to call time on the Streets. This includes all music and interviews, not to mention the wonderful interactive web stuff he has been posting on his website. He will still perform all remaining live dates, however, and will tour the UK this month before playing Oslo on 15 March.
There has been no comment from Skinner, aside from a post on the-streets.co.uk that just reads "Closed". However, Skinner's management has confirmed that he will no longer be operating as the Streets in any capacity.
The final Streets song – Close the Book – will be given away to Guardian readers as part of the Streets takeover. Plus, the music site will feature work from two of Skinner's favourite writers – Chantelle Fiddy and Ben Thompson – with photographs, podcasts and video art in the pipeline too. You will also be able to access more Streets material using the Guardian and Mike Skinner's Scanner iPhone app – details of which will appear over the course of the week.
