Tyler 'quits' Aerosmith following Abu Dhabi gig

After playing to a full house in Abu Dhabi, Aerosmith's lead singer Steven Tyler has reportedly left the band.

Steven Tyler on stage with Aerosmith during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix concert, which may have been the singer's last with the group.

ABU DHABI // After the US rock supergroup Aerosmith, famed for such global hits as Walk This Way, brought the curtain down on the capital's inaugural Grand Prix last week with a sell-out concert, their rubber-lipped singer Steven Tyler has reportedly "walked that way". "Steven quit, as far as I can tell," Joe Perry, the band's guitarist, said yesterday in the Las Vegas Sun. His comments fuelled speculation that Aerosmith's gig in the Emirate was perhaps their last with Tyler, who, according to reports, has not returned Perry's phone calls since the band left the UAE.

Aerosmith's PR company, HK Management, was unable to comment, as was The Union Entertainment Group, which has represented Tyler, 61, separately since he left HK Management earlier this year. The "Bad Boys from Boston", known for hits such as Love in an Elevator and I Don't Want to Miss a Thing, formed in 1971. Abi King, 26, an Abu Dhabi resident, was among tens of thousands of fans who attended Aerosmith's concert on Yas Island last Sunday. "It was an awesome show, absolutely," the British IT worker said. But she added that perhaps it was time the ageing rockers retired.

"That's cool that it was maybe their last show and we were there. I absolutely loved it, but I guess they're kind of at a good age to be hanging it all up anyway." Tyler told Classic Rock Magazine last week that he wanted to concentrate more on solo work. "I don't know what I'm doing yet, but it's definitely going to be something Steven Tyler: working on the brand of myself, 'brand Tyler'," he said.

The same article suggested band members would discuss the possibility of a long break, or replacing Tyler, over the next few weeks. "If somebody was willing to do it and the chemistry was right, why not?" the band's rhythm guitarist, Brad Whitford, told the magazine. [e-mail]