Todd Rundgren always knew AEROSMITH singer Steven Tyler was the real father of his surrogate daughter Liv Tyler, but decided to raise her as his own because her parents were "children themselves".

The veteran rocker, who dated Liv's groupie mother Bebe Buell, was present at the Hollywood actress' birth, cut her umbilical cord, and brought her up as his daughter during the years when her biological father Tyler was touring with his notoriously drug-fuelled band.

Responsible Rundgren, 55, admits, "I would love for Steven Tyler to have taken responsibility at the time.

"But for me, the adults were such children themselves that I thought, 'Well, how can a little girl grow up thinking that nobody wanted to be her father?'

"It was not like I was a dummy, or completely unaware of Steven Tyler. As far as I'm concerned she's still my daughter and I'm still incredibly proud of her, and I love her, and whenever we get together it's just blissful - for both of us."

05/04/2004 20:58