Culture

Steven Page Leaves Barenaked Ladies Behind

by Tina Kells | February 25, 2009 at 11:26 am

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Steven Page, frontman of the world famous Canadian band Barenaked Ladies, has quit. Page will leave the band effective immediately and has posted the news of his departure on his personal blog as well as the official Barenaked Ladies website.

"Yes, it's official. I am no longer a Barenaked Lady. After twenty years (plus a few months), I'm heading out on my own," Page wrote in a post on his official blog.
Page adds that he'll be pursuing solo projects, including a turn as composer for a production of English renaissance play "Bartholomew Fair" at the Stratford Festival later this summer. He's also recently also performed with the Art of Time Ensemble and recorded a children's album with his former band.

The rest of the Barenaked Ladies will continue to perform without Steven Page and the split is said to be an amicable one.

The other members of the Barenaked Ladies will continue to perform, according to a statement on the band's official site.
"These guys are my brothers. We've grown up together over the past twenty years. I love them and wish them all the best in the future," Page writes on the band's site.

Reaction from Canada's music industry has been supportive of both Steven Page and the Barenaked Ladies. Canadian Idol judge, Jake Gold, who has known the band for two decades, says he has no doubt that the band will continue to produce great music without Steven Page.

"I think the Ladies have now developed their name to the point where it's like a brand, and when people go to see the show, they're going to hear those great songs over the years and the catalogue of material that they have," Gold said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "I think potentially they could do really well.

"I don't know if it's going to do better than it was, but then again, if they can maintain, that's good enough."