Aerosmith's lead guitarist, Joe Perry, left, and lead singer Steven Tyler are shown performing in June. Tyler has announced he has returned to a rehabilitation facility for the second time in two years. (Jeff Roberson/Associated Press)After a tumultuous year for veteran rock outfit Aerosmith, lead singer Steven Tyler has re-entered a rehabilitation facility to seek treatment for addiction to painkillers.
"I love Aerosmith; I love performing as the lead singer in Aerosmith. I am grateful for all of the support and love I am receiving and am committed to getting things taken care of," the 61-year-old rock singer said in a statement released Tuesday.
Tyler also said he was "eager to be back on the stage and in the recording studio with my bandmates."
Dr. Brian McKeon, who is treating Tyler, added in a statement that the singer has suffered a series of orthopedic injuries over the years that have left him with chronic pain and in need of surgery.
It is the second time in two years that Tyler has checked himself into rehab. In spring 2008, he sought treatment for dependency on pain and sleep medication, which he said he was prescribed after undergoing several foot surgeries to correct longtime injuries from a hard life onstage.
Tyler also had a notorious reputation for heavy drug and alcohol use during the 1970s and early '80s.
The year 2009 proved difficult for Aerosmith, which was formed in Boston in the 1970s. During the band's latest North American tour, Tyler fell from the stage at a concert in western South Dakota in August, and was airlifted to hospital with head, neck and shoulder injuries.
The accident occured just ahead of a series of Canadian dates. The subsequent performances, and eventually the remainder of the tour, were cancelled.
Later, in the fall, guitarist and band co-founder Joe Perry went public with his concerns about Tyler's dedication to the band.
"Steven quit, as far as I can tell," Perry told the Las Vegas Sun in early November.
"He has had no contact with me or the other band members," after gigs in Hawaii and Abu Dhabi in October, Perry said.
He also vowed that if Tyler chose to go solo, the remaining band members would continue with a new lead singer.
Tyler quickly negated these comments, however, when he joined Perry onstage at a New York concert of the latter's solo endeavour, Joe Perry Project.
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