The band members, who split in 1996 after releasing two albums, said they will play two shows in their hometown of Manchester on June 29 and 30, followed by an international tour. "Our plan is to take on the world," said singer Ian Brown as the band announced its reunion at a London news conference.

"It's not a trip down memory lane," he added. "We are doing new songs." Formed by Brown and guitarist John Squire, the band's self-titled 1989 debut album was a huge British hit. But fans waited five years for the followup, "Second Coming," and the group soon split up amid internal wrangling and legal disputes.

The band members insisted for years that they would not get back together, but Squire said he and Brown had met recently at the funeral of bass player Gary "Mani" Mounfield's mother and "in some ways it felt like 15 years ago was yesterday."