Clean Bandit’s Neil Milan told his bandmates he was leaving the group via email.
The ‘Rather Be’ hitmakers’ saxophonist Jack Patterson has revealed they were in "shock" when Jack announced his departure in an electronic message rather than in person.
Speaking at the KISS Haunted House Party, he said: "It was a surprise. It was a shock. When we actually got the email it was a real shock."
And while Jack and the rest of the group – Grace Chatto and Luke Patterson – are sad he decided to leave, they have already replaced him with two temporary violinists and are currently trialling having two people playing the wooden string instrument.
He added: "But we’ve got two amazing violinists here tonight. When we started it was a seven-piece band and since then we’ve had so many different people involved.
"It’s ever changing, so I think it’s going to be exciting having more than one violinist now, which is what we’re experimenting with."
Jack says it has been a "tough" thing to come to terms with, however, they accept that Neil is "a lot happier" now.
He said: "It’s sad. It’s been a tough time but I think we’ve all come together to make it work and put in a lot of effort and I think he’s a lot happier now as well. now that he’s left and only good things will come from it."
Neil – who was previously romantically linked to Years & Years frontman Olly Alexander – announced the news to his fans via Twitter.
He wrote: "hello everyone, I have decided to leave clean bandit. it was a decision that took me a very long time to reach but it is the right one. so many people have made these last four years quite unbelievable and I am so thankful for it all. meeting (and tweeting) you guys has been really so incredible 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. (sic)."
Neil Milan told Clean Bandit he was leaving via email
