BOSTON: Iconic rock band Aerosmith has announced they are officially retiring from touring.
The five-member American band, which has till date sold an estimated 150 million records worldwide, in a statement on Friday that they are cancelling their world tour as their 76-year-old lead singer Steven Tyler is suffering from a vocal injury that he sustained last year.
“We’ve always wanted to blow your mind when performing. As you know, Steven’s voice is an instrument like no other. He has spent months tirelessly working on getting his voice to where it was before his injury. We’ve seen him struggling despite having the best medical team by his side. Sadly, it is clear, that a full recovery from his vocal injury is not possible”, the band said in a statement posted on their social media.
“We have made a heartbreaking and difficult, but necessary, decision — as a band of brothers — to retire from the touring stage”, the statement read.
It was 1970 when a spark of inspiration became Aerosmith. Thanks to you, our Blue Army, that spark caught flame and has been burning for over five decades. Some of you have been with us since the beginning and all of you are the reason we made rock ‘n’ roll history.
It has been… pic.twitter.com/og43Q8Lwbt
— Aerosmith (@Aerosmith) August 2, 2024
One of the most popular bands in rock and roll history had, in the year 1997, released ‘Taste of India’, a song in its 12th studio album ‘Nine Lives’. The song was written by Steven Tyler, guitarist Joe Perry and songwriter Glen Ballard.
The lyrics go “God I love the sweet taste of India/Lingers on the tip of my tongue/Gotta love the sweet taste of India/Blame it on the beat of the drum”. Theband had played in Bengaluru in 2007.
The band’s ‘Peace out’ farewell tour began in May 2013, but in September as Tyler injured his larynx announced that they were postpoing the tour. They were supposed to resume their farewell tour on September in Pittsburgh with performances after that in Philadelphia, Dallas, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago and New York.
They were also set to perform a “hometown show” last New Year’s Eve at Boston’s TD Garden to ring in the new year before it was cancelled due to Tyler’s injury.
“It was 1970 when a spark of inspiration became Aerosmith. Thanks to you, our Blue Army, that spark caught flame and has been burning for over five decades”, the band said in a post on X. “Some of you have been with us since the beginning and all of you are the reason we made rock ‘n’ roll history”, Aerosmith’s post read.
Aerosmith released its first album in 1973 and its reportoire includes the “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” from the 1998 blockbuster film “Armageddon,” as well as “Dream On” and “Crazy.”
The band, featuring Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Joey Kramer, Tom Hamilton and Brad Whitford is known to belt out Hard rock, heavy metal, blues rock, glam metal and country rock. The 76-year-old lead singer Steve Taylor, known as the “Demon of Screamin”, is famed for his on stage acrobatics. (ANI)