During a recent appearance on The Bob Lefsetz Podcast, Styx’s manager Charlie Brusco talked about the departure of Dennis DeYoung from the band.
DeYoung took the role of lead vocalist of Styx until 1999. The manager detailed how the other Styx members, Tommy Shaw and James Young, wanted to kick Dennis out of the band:
“Tommy [Shaw] and J.Y. [James Young] came to me and said, ‘We got a new album coming out. Dennis can’t tour. We want to go out there without him.’ And I said, ‘Alright, if we do this – it could work, it might not work – but I’m not gonna go backwards. We’re not gonna go do this for six months and then turn around and go back [to DeYoung].”
Brusco also said the other members of Styx couldn’t handle DeYoung’s attitude anymore. Styx had taken breaks before because of clashes, but they decided to fire their frontman this time. Brusco had to give the news to him over the phone, but it didn’t go well. DeYoung said no one would come to see the band without him, but Brusco disagreed.
Styx Isn’t In Touch With DeYoung
They replaced DeYoung with Lawrence Gowan as the new lead singer. Brusco revealed they’ve entirely cut ties with DeYoung:
“I’m pretty sure of this: I don’t think me, Tommy or J.Y. have ever spoken to Dennis since I let him go. I don’t think the three of us have ever had a word with [DeYoung]. A good word or a bad word – nothing.”
DeYoung Talks About Leaving Styx
DeYoung also spoke with Rock History Music in 2022 about his exit from Styx. The singer explained the reason behind his departure:
“I got kicked out of the band because ‘Babe’ went number one on the album before because I kinda fooled with the style a little bit. And then the record company thought, the first time, it was gonna be another number one record for us. They wanted to release it, and then Tommy threatened to quit the band if it was released. He threatens a lot on that.”
He added:
“And then it was a big brouhaha between all of us. I ended up getting kicked out because I couldn’t take any more, you know. You write a number one song, have a People’s Choice Award for it, you’re the band of the year and you should be somehow.”
DeYoung also revealed that he didn’t want to rejoin the band. He just wants to do one final tour for the fans. Styx has upcoming show dates with Gowan in May in the United States.