Reunited Aerosmith plots summer European tour

Friday February 19, 09:45 PM

DETROIT (Billboard) - Aerosmith will add more European dates to its summer itinerary to follow up the booking at the Download Festival in England, a spokeswoman said.

Effectively signalling a settling of differences between rehab-prone frontman Steven Tyler and his frustrated bandmates -- Aerosmith will precede its June 13 Download date with an appearance at the Sweden Rock Festival on June 10 in Solvesborg.

A UK spokeswoman for the band told Billboard.com that other European dates will be announced shortly.

"There's no Aerosmith without Steven Tyler," said Download promoter Andy Copping. "There's no point in entertaining anything other than (with) Steven Tyler."

Perry had been leading a bid to replace Tyler, ostensibly so that the band can tour and record while the singer deals with an addiction to painkillers and finishes his memoir. Tyler's attorney last month asked Aerosmith's management to "cease & desist" talk about a substitute singer.

Relations between Tyler and the rest of the band have been tense for months, maybe even years, and things came to a head in August when the band was forced to cancel a tour after Tyler fell of the stage mid-song. He entered rehab for the second time in two years last December.

The group has also been offered tour dates in South America, but nothing has been announced yet. No North American shows have been mentioned, and there's also no word on if and when Aerosmith will resume work on its first studio album since 2001.

Perry, whose knee problems also tripped up Aerosmith in recent years, has been touring with his Joe Perry Project to support his latest album, "Have Guitar, Will Travel."

Meanwhile drummer Joey Kramer has been promoting his autobiography, "Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top," and guitarist Brad Whitford is gearing up for an Experience Hendrix tour that starts March 4 in Santa Barbara, Calif.