Steven Tyler has revealed he initially signed up to become a judge on American Idol to teach his Aerosmith bandmates a lesson.
The rocker tells the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone magazine Joe Perry and his bandmates threatened to kick him out of the group after he fell from a stage and forced them to scrap a summer tour in 2009.
Tyler then announced plans to take a hiatus from the group but rejoined for a series of concerts last year (10), before announcing he was to become an Idol judge.
And he admits the move to TV was partly to show his Aerosmith bandmates he didn't need them as much as they thought he did.
He explains, "Did I take this job to show the band? F**k, yeah. Not to show them, but that I can't be held hostage anymore. I will be my own hostage. The band can't throw me out."
Prior to taking the job on Idol, Tyler thought he could teach his bandmates a lesson by joining Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Zak Starkey in a new-look Led Zeppelin.
He adds, "I decided, 'Well, I know that I'm mad at those guys, but I'm not that mad.' So I called Jimmy up after I left, two weeks later, and said, 'You're in a classic band, and so is mine, and I just can't do that to my guys'."