Officially, a band member from the New Radicals recently fell ill, forcing the group to cancel a tour of Great Britain. Unofficially, according to sources, the 'group' is Gregg Alexander, and he wasn't and isn't sick at all. He simply wants nothing to do with the music industry right now.|

"Inevitably Gregg is the New Radicals -- if somebody else was sick in the band the record company [MCA] would replace them because they're hired musicians," says a source close to the band. Simply stated, says the source, "he no longer wants to work any longer doing anything musically related."

A couple of weeks back, the New Radicals abruptly cancelled a spring tour of the U.K., citing the illness of a band member, but a spokesperson for MCA could not identify which member. The band also cancelled an appearance at Atlanta's RockFest on June 5 for the same reason.

"He is not interested in doing any shows right now," says another source familiar with the situation. "He just didn't want to go to Europe and perform." The source close to the band speculated there's "too much pressure on [Alexander] to perform" and "he doesn't like people telling him what to do." He will, however, acquiesce and begin work on a music video for Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too's second single, "Someday We'll Know," once he's decided on a director. Alexander will also, according to the source close to the band, cooperate with regard to various promotional appearances this summer. The spokesperson added that summer radio festivals featuring the New Radicals are still a go as of now.

Since the September release of Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too, the album has sold more than 600,000 copies largely on the strength of the first single "You Get What You Give."

BLAIR R. FISCHER(May 25, 1999)