Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell is taking time to “reflect and to heal”, wife says
Etty Lau Farrell, the wife of Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell, has taken to social media to reveal that her husband is taking time “to reflect and to heal” after attacking guitarist Dave Navarro on stage.
On September 16th, the Californian rock icons cancelled the remaining dates of their North American tour after Farrell attacked Navarro on stage in Boston on September 13th. The ‘Been Caught Stealing’ band have spent most of the year on tour, completing runs in South America, Europe and Australia, before returning to the US for the final string of shows.
However, it is reported that tension within the band had been growing over the past few weeks when Farrell’s voice encountered issues at a New York concert, with things later turning physical in Boston. That night, the group’s set ended prematurely after 11 songs when the frontman attacked Navarro, apparently for no reason, during ‘Ocean Size’.
Crew members rushed onto the stage, with bassist Eric Avery also intervening. Following the incident, the group cancelled a performance at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater, Bridgeport, CT, on September 15th but didn’t immediately provide any more updates on their remaining shows.
On September 16th, the group issued a brief statement, that explained: “To all the fans, the band have made the difficult decision to take some time away as a group. As such, they will be cancelling the remainder of the tour.” Fans were informed they are able to receive refunds at the point of purchase and are advised to reach out directly to third-party resale sites.
Farrell also said, apologising to his bandmates, family and fans. It read: “This weekend has been incredibly difficult, and after having the time and space to reflect, it is only right that I apologise to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday’s show. Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behaviour, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation.”
Swiftly after the incident, on September 14th, Etty Lau Farrell spoke out about it on social media, wanting to put speculation about what caused it to bed. While offering insight into what unfolded, she claimed the vocalist’s frustrations had been “mounting, night after night,” due to sound issues, tinnitus, and a sore throat. She also indicated that it was only when the audience complained about the sound that he “lost it”.
Etty Lau has commented on the matter once more in another social media post. In an Instagram post on September 21st, she expressed gratitude to those who have been there for her family and said: “Like attracts like. Kindness attracts kindness. As you know, Perry is the gentlest of souls. We are equally astonished at Perry’s physical outburst as you are – but you must know that Perry must had been pushed to his absolute limit.. to that end we apologise.”
Detailing what action is being taken in the Farrell household, she also wrote: “We are taking a bit of time to ourselves, to reflect and to heal. Perry already has appointments with a otolaryngologist and a neurologist. If you know and love Perry well, you know there’s no need for me to address the other false narratives. Our souls know.”
Etty Lau maintained that with love, compassion and support, her husband will persevere and recover and one day will be able to pursue his career “unbridled”.
What has Dave Navarro said on the matter?
On September 18th, Jane’s Addiction released the single ‘True Love’, the follow-up to July’s release, ‘Imminent Redemption’. As the band haven’t heavily promoted the song on social media, Navarro commented on it on Instagram when he shared a snippet. He wrote: “I am proud of the work we did on this song but I am equally saddened by the fact that you will likely never hear it live.” Many have taken this as a hint that the alternative metal pioneers are over.
Navarro had already apologised to the support acts on the tour, Bauhaus guitarist Daniel Ash’s influential project, Love and Rockets, and Warrington rockers Crawlers, in a separate post, and in the one commenting on ‘True Love’, he took the opportunity to do so once more.
He expressed his sorrow “that things ended this way and that so many jobs were lost as a result.” The guitarist concluded,“May all of our hearts mend together.”
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