Steven Tyler's Injury Forces Aerosmith to Cancel Rest of Tour

Posted on Aug 14th 2009 12:05PM by John D. Luerssen
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Raise your hand if you didn't see this one coming. Early Friday morning, Aerosmith announced they have canceled the remaining dates of their North American summer tour. Injuries incurred by singer Steven Tyler last week after he fell from the stage during a concert in South Dakota have forced the legendary rockers to scotch the rest of the trek.

"Words can't express the sadness I feel for having to cancel this tour," guitarist Joe Perry said. "I would like to thank our loyal fans for sticking by us through thick and thin and all the good energy they are sending our way. We hope we can get the Aerosmith machine up and running again as soon as possible. I am sure going to miss playing with ZZ Top just as I'm sure the fans are going to miss seeing them playing with us as well. Hope to see you sooner than later."

In a statement from Tyler issued to Access Hollywood on Thursday, he explained that -- after the show had been delayed for an hour because of thunderstorms -- the band had been having technical troubles. "I wanted to go out to the crowd to continue the show," he said, "so the 'Train Kept A-Rollin'' and I ran out on the cat walk and grabbed my mic to finish the song. I was doing the Tyler shuffle and then I zigged when I should have zagged ... And I slipped, and as I live on the edge ... I fell off the edge!

"I landed upside down," Tyler added. "And after 20 stitches on the back of my head, and a broken left shoulder, I just want to say that I'm plain grateful that I didn't break my neck! In truth, after thousands of live shows, falling off the edge four times ain't too bad."

Tyler's fall resulted in him being airlifted from the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally to Rapid City Hospital before he returned to Boston to consult with his own doctors. Earlier in the tour, Aerosmith was forced to cancel a series of July dates when Tyler, 61, tore muscles in his leg during a performance on June 29.

"All of us here in the Aerosmith organization and all of the people who contribute to making our shows possible are in a state of shock," guitarist Brad Whitford added in the announcement. "We never anticipated this tour coming to such a swift and unfortunate ending. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Steven for a speedy recovery and return to good health."

Our thoughts go out to Steven too, and we'd also suggest wearing a football helmet and pads the next time you play a gig.