So this is the end. After 54 turbulent years Aeroforce One has finally been forced out of the skies and dry docked. Yesterday Aerosmith reluctantly announced their enforced immediate retirement from being a live concern. It wasn't quite meant to conclude this way. There was meant to be a final triumphant victory lap of the planet before they hung up their spurs. But damage to Steven Tyler's vocal cords (as important and a crucial component to the distinct Aerosmith sound as Joe Perry's guitar and Joey Kramer rhythmic beats) has meant they have decided that continuation is impossible.

Now a pinch of salt is advised as Aerosmith have been teasing us with retirement for fourteen years. Their 2017 Download show was billed to be farewell to our fayre isles (ironically it may well still stand as their final appearance in this country as subsequent announced UK shows were canned either because of the pandemic or Steven’s ill health) and as far back as 2010 they were talking termination. But if they are true to their word they leave one hell of a legacy. Heavy rock would not be heavy rock if not for Aerosmith. They exhibited a tenacity and resilience that was insatiable. Lazarus like, they returned from the dead on multiple occasions and their fingerprints can be seen everywhere.

It can be argued that they brought heavy rock to the states. As the sixties shudder to a close they took back the blues that Fleetwood Mac, The Who and Led Zeppelin had purloined from unknown 50's black blues and gave it a splash of stateside pizzazz. During the seventies they became the American Rolling Stones, a rock n’ roll juggernaut that made our music a mainstay in stadiums. They also channelled the androgynous glam making waves on this side of the pond and transformed into a deeply heterosexual riff driven stomp that begot the entire hair metal scene of the early eighties. But the excess wasn't confined to the size of their gigs, as Perry and Tyler earned the moniker of Toxic Twins for taking all of the drugs all of the time. As the eighties rolled in the band fractured with Brad Whitford and Joe Perry both jumping ship and an inevitable commercial tailspin. In a bizarre turn of affairs, Aerosmith found themselves eclipsed and out gunned by an emerging glam metal scene that they themselves had begot. With expensive drug habits out weighing album revenue, the mighty 'smith seemed to have run out of steam.

Perry and Whitford returned in 84 but the resulting reunion record "Done With Mirrors" refused to lead to any sort of renaissance. In fact their resurrection came from highly unusual quarters. Run-D.M.C. part of the rapidly ascending rap movement decided to cover ‘Walk This Way’ and asked for Joe and Steven involvement, one of those zeitgeist moments that changes everything. The resulting single and video were cultural phenomenons that thrust the band firmly back into the mainstream. They switched on a dime from being down and out to being essential. The Desmond Child produced “Permanent Vacation” sold them to radio friendly rock audience currently gorging on Bon Jovi and Mötley Crüe. Aerosmith were stadium bothered once more.

They cemented their global dominance in 1989 with the extraordinary “Pump” and a triumphant return to Europe and these shores after a 14 years absence. I witnessed their inaugural Hammersmith open show in October 1989 and they were incredible. A cacophony of sleazy riffs and vocal acrobatics that blew the mind. 

They almost managed to stave off rocks down turn during the nineties but even they started to experience diminishing returns, but then in 1998 THAT song happened and in ‘Don't Want To Miss A Thing’ they forged the archetypal power ballad. Suddenly they were the classic rock band of choice again and headlined Wembley stadium in 1999. 

Here in 2024 there isn't a single rock band that doesn't owe them some sort of debt. So let's toast Aerosmith the band that created stadium metal. We shall not seen their kind again.