Tony Harnell’s Sudden Departure From Skid Row Shocks Everyone — Including The Band

Skid Row seems to be having trouble keeping lead singers. Earlier in 2015, Tony Harnell was brought in to replace Johnny Solinger, but it seems Harnell was just as unhappy as Solinger, because Tony has already resigned from Skid Row. What makes this news so surprising is the way in which Tony broke the news. When fans read the announcement on Harnell’s Facebook page, it was naturally assumed that some sort of discussion or notification was made with the remaining members of the band, but that apparently didn’t happen.

Tony Harnell Shocks With News Of His Resignation From Rock Band Skid Row

The Skid Row frontman, who was also a vocalist for TNT, revealed to fans earlier this week that he was cutting ties with Skid Row when he issued a statement via social media. The posting was short, making the news plain and without any clues as to Tony’s reason for his split from the band.

“I’m sorry to inform everyone that I’m no longer the lead singer for Skid Row. I thank the fans for their love and support!”

Harnell’s decision may have something to do with his hospitalization earlier in December, which was also the reason behind a Chicago concert cancellation. The incident spurred wild rumors from one end of the spectrum to the other, with some gossip suggesting that Harnell was faking his symptoms to other rumors claiming that Tony was on his deathbed. In truth, the Skid Row singer’s statement revealed that he checked into a hospital overnight to be treated for bronchitis with asthmatic symptoms and low oxygen levels. While Tony was still willing to perform at the Chicago show against medical advice, the management and band members of Skid Row canceled the show early on to err on the side of caution.

Skid Row Responds To The News Of Tony Harnell’s Resignation From The Band

For fans, waking up to the news that hard rock band Skid Row has lost yet another singer was surprising enough, so it’s difficult to imagine the response of the remaining band members, as they logged on to Facebook only to find out they had lost their vocalist. While they took the time to regroup in the light of this news, they came together quickly and have already issued a response to Harnell’s all too public resignation.

“We found out about his decision the same way all of you did, via his post on social media,” reads the Skid Row statement. “He had posted that he was no longer in the band before informing the band personally.”

Almost as an afterthought, the band commented on their last meeting with the singer, as though to show that their relationship with Tony had already been strained.

“The last we spoke with Tony was on Dec 17th.”

The statement went on to speak of Harnell’s health status and previous Chicago hospitalization, assuring fans that every band member has been very worried for Tony and offered any help they could provide to help the singer return to his former healthy condition.

“Due to his condition, we were forced to cancel our show in Chicago on Dec. 19. The next time we heard anything was his post yesterday.”

Skid Row has also stated that they wish Tony well with his future and that they, as well, are moving on and will begin the search for a new singer. On that note, the band remarked that there is no reason to expect a reunion with original singer Sebastian Bach. Additionally, Skid Row denied rumors that they would be touring with Guns N’ Roses.