Last week, Beach Boys founder Mike Love announced that, following the band's 50th anniversary tour, the California pop group would resume touring without classic members Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and David Marks. No big deal, right? After all, the outfit have toured in various formats over the years, so the news that Love and Bruce Johnson will be performing alongside a group of hired guns is hardly surprising.
But here's when things turn sketchy: the other members of the Beach Boys apparently had no idea what Love and Johnson were planning, and the Huffington Post reports that they only learned that they were being replaced after the statement was made public.
"The post-50th anniversary configuration will not include Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and David Marks," the statement reads. "The 50th Reunion Tour was designed to be a set tour with a beginning and an end to mark a special 50-year milestone for the band."
According to the Telegraph, Love (who owns the Beach Boys name) axed the other band members for financial reasons.
"You've got to be careful not to get overexposed," Love said. "There are promoters who are interested [in more shows by the reunited lineup], but they've said, 'Give it a rest for a year.' The Eagles found out the hard way when they went out for a second year and wound up selling tickets for $5."
Some recent quotes, however, suggest that the other Beach Boys had been planning to continue performing with the group. Wilson told CNN, "I'm disappointed and can't understand why he [Love] doesn't want to tour with Al, David and me. We are out here having so much fun. After all, we are the real Beach Boys."
An online petition has been launched imploring Love to "to re-instate the 3 other members to the touring group." Jardine clearly supports the cause, since he tweeted a link to it on Monday (September 24).
The full lineup still have two dates remaining on their 50th anniversary tour: tomorrow (September 27) at London, UK's Royal Albert Hall, and the day after (September 28) at the city's Wembley Arena.
It remains to be seen exactly what Love and Johnson have planned for the future of the Beach Boys. As we noted in our review of the band's Toronto performance this past June, Wilson "was the reason why they were playing the 16,000-capacity Molson Amphitheatre and not a casino outside of the city."
But here's when things turn sketchy: the other members of the Beach Boys apparently had no idea what Love and Johnson were planning, and the Huffington Post reports that they only learned that they were being replaced after the statement was made public.
"The post-50th anniversary configuration will not include Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and David Marks," the statement reads. "The 50th Reunion Tour was designed to be a set tour with a beginning and an end to mark a special 50-year milestone for the band."
According to the Telegraph, Love (who owns the Beach Boys name) axed the other band members for financial reasons.
"You've got to be careful not to get overexposed," Love said. "There are promoters who are interested [in more shows by the reunited lineup], but they've said, 'Give it a rest for a year.' The Eagles found out the hard way when they went out for a second year and wound up selling tickets for $5."
Some recent quotes, however, suggest that the other Beach Boys had been planning to continue performing with the group. Wilson told CNN, "I'm disappointed and can't understand why he [Love] doesn't want to tour with Al, David and me. We are out here having so much fun. After all, we are the real Beach Boys."
An online petition has been launched imploring Love to "to re-instate the 3 other members to the touring group." Jardine clearly supports the cause, since he tweeted a link to it on Monday (September 24).
The full lineup still have two dates remaining on their 50th anniversary tour: tomorrow (September 27) at London, UK's Royal Albert Hall, and the day after (September 28) at the city's Wembley Arena.
It remains to be seen exactly what Love and Johnson have planned for the future of the Beach Boys. As we noted in our review of the band's Toronto performance this past June, Wilson "was the reason why they were playing the 16,000-capacity Molson Amphitheatre and not a casino outside of the city."
