Steve Perry has ruled out the possibility of working again with his old Journey bandmate Neal Schon.
Speculation has ebbed and flowed over the years that Perry – who returned to the stage in 2014 and released his new album Traces last week – might one day rejoin the band he fronted from 1977 to 1987 and again from 1995 to 1998.
But in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Perry reports that it’s not something he can imagine doing anytime in the future.
The vocalist says: “I’m not sure that’s possible without stirring up hopes of a reunion.
“Please listen to me. I left the band 31 fucking years ago, my friend. You can still love someone, but not want to work with them. And if they only love you because they want to work with you, that doesn’t feel good to me.”
Perry also says he’d like to return to the stage in support of Traces – his first album since 1994’s For The Love Of Strange Medicine – and confirms that if a tour goes ahead, he’ll perform some of Journey’s best-loved tracks, including Faithfully, Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) and Don’t Stop Believin'.
Last week, Perry gave a track-by-track guide to Classic Rock about Traces, saying: “There’s a lot of emotion on the record. I’ve heard that it doesn’t rock enough, but if I rock a lot some demand to know where the ballads are.”
