Aerosmith: US rock band announce farewell tour

US rock 'n' roll band Aerosmith have announced a farewell tour to mark more than five decades together.

The band, who are now all in their 70s, are best known known for hits such as Dream On, Walk This Way and I Don't Want To Miss A Thing.

They broke the "earth-shattering" news in a star-studded video on Monday, featuring celebrity pals including Sir Ringo Starr, Dolly Parton and Eminem.

"It's not goodbye it's peace out!" they declared in a joint statement.

"Get ready and walk this way, you're going to get the best show of our lives."

The 40-date run of shows across North America will begin in Philadelphia on 2 September 2023 and will end on 26 January 2024 in Montreal, via a New Year's Eve gig in their hometown, Boston. But no UK/European tour dates have been announced so far.

"I think it's about time," guitarist Joe Perry, 72, told the Associated Press.

"It's kind of a chance to celebrate the 50 years we've been out here. You never know how much longer everybody's going to be healthy to do this."

"It's been a while since we've actually done a real tour. We did that run in Vegas, which was great," he added.

"It was fun, but (we're) kind of anxious to get back on the road."

Last year, the band cancelled part of their Las Vegas residency after their flamboyant frontman Steven Tyler checked himself into rehab.

In a statement to AP, Tyler, 75, said of the forthcoming farewell tour: "We're opening up Pandora's Box one last time to present our fans with the Peace Out tour.

"Be there or beware as we bring all the toys out of the attic. Get ready."

Aerosmith formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1970 and went on to sell 150 million records worldwide, as well as winning four Grammys.

Known for their hedonistic, wild lifestyles as much as their riffs, the group were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2001, the same year that they performed at the Super Bowl halftime show.