Steven Page leaves Barenaked Ladies

Flames9_RN · February 25, 2009

Steven Page, the lead singer of Canadian pop group the Barenaked Ladies, has announced that he is leaving the group.

"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, a chamber music group, and recorded a children's album with his former band.

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.

Page drew negative publicity when he was arrested in upstate New York on felony drug possession charges last July. The charges were later reduced by a judge to a misdemeanour and Page avoided jail time.

The Barenaked Ladies were founded by Page and Ed Robertson in 1988 in Scarborough, Ont. The group broke out with their 1992 album Gordon. The group would go on to sell more than 10-million records worldwide and pen a number of hits including One Week and If I had a $1,000,000

http://www.canada.com/entertainment/Steven...7623/story.html