Joe Perry Cancels Fall Solo Tour Following Backstage Collapse
Ten days after his dramatic collapse backstage at a Billy Joel concert, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry has canceled a solo tour that was supposed to kick off next week. “While doctors have released Perry from care,” reads a press release, “the Aerosmith guitarist will now take the rest of the year off. Perry again would like to apologize to the fans who were planning on coming to the shows and looks forward to seeing them again in 2019.”
Perry joined Billy Joel midway through his November 10th gig at Madison Square Garden to perform “Walk This Way,” but not long after he got offstage reports surfaced on TMZ that he had been rushed to the hospital. According to the report, paramedics spent 40 minutes working with him in his dressing room after he passed out in his dressing room. The Perry camp confirmed that he was given oxygen and that a tracheal tube was used to clear his airways. Three days later, he posted a brief statement on Instagram: “Doing well, thanks for all the love and support.”
A similar incident took place in July of 2016 when Perry collapsed onstage during a Brooklyn show with the Hollywood Vampires, a supergroup that also features Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp. He appeared ill throughout the night and near the end he staggered towards the drum riser and fell to the ground. He was carried offstage by members of the New York Police Department. He later blamed the incident on a combination of “dehydration and exhaustion” and was back onstage within a matter of weeks.
Earlier this year, Perry released a solo LP entitled Sweetzerland Manifesto. He was going to tour behind it with a new band featuring Extreme frontman Gary Cherone and his fellow Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitford. Now that those dates are cancelled, his next public appearance is February 1st, 2019 when Aerosmith are playing a Super Bowl concert in Atlanta, Georgia. In April, they are schedule to begin a residency at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.