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Aerosmith singer broke shoulder in fall; tour in doubt

Associated Press file photo

Steven Tyler fell off the stage Wednesday during a concert in Sturgis, S.D.

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The Associated Press

Published: August 7, 2009

Updated: 08/07/2009 07:12 pm

STURGIS, S.D. - Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler has a broken shoulder and stitches in his head after falling from the stage during a South Dakota concert, but apparently did not suffer any internal injuries, guitarist Joe Perry said today.

Perry told The Associated Press after a stop at a Chicago radio station that Tyler has been flown to Boston and was meeting with his own doctor. Meanwhile, the band was planning a conference call to discuss the fate of its tour.

Tyler, 61, fell several feet while dancing around as the sound crew replaced a fuse that blew during the song "Love in an Elevator" at the Buffalo Chip Campground, which hosted the Wednesday night concert during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in western South Dakota. An amateur video showed him spinning around before falling off the stage.

Perry said Friday that his back was turned when Tyler fell, so he didn't see the lead singer go down. Perry said he hadn't had a chance to talk with Tyler yet and wasn't sure what made him lose his balance.

"I've seen it a thousand times, him dancing or just twirling around, doing a summersault, he's really agile, so I don't know," Perry said. "We're like kinda still in shock. What can you say? It's stuff that could happen to anybody."

The guitarist says band members planned to talk Friday about the tour. A show in Winnipeg, Canada, already was postponed but Perry said he wasn't sure what would happen with the remainder of tour dates. The band's Web site didn't mention other cancelations Friday evening, and repeated calls for comment went unanswered.

"After we get on the phone call ... there will be some announcement that will give us some kind of idea what the future's gonna hold," Perry said during his interview on Chicago radio station WLUP-FM.

Since Tyler's fall, Perry said he decided to ride the tour bus home and stop at radio stations along the way to play some work from his upcoming solo album, "Have Guitar Will Travel."

Perry said the band had to cancel only a couple of concerts during its first 25 years but has had a run of bad luck the last three years.

On June 28, Tyler hurt his leg at a concert in Uncasville, Conn., and the band had to postpone seven shows in July. Tyler also battled pneumonia before the tour began in June, while Perry fought a knee infection.

The band postponed a July 10 show at the Ford Amphitheatre due to an "artist injury," according to promoter Live Nation. The date has not been rescheduled.

Information from Tribune archives was used in this report.

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