Red Hot Chili Peppers Say John Frusciante's Departure Was A Relief

Red Hot Chili Peppers have described the departure of guitarist John Frusciante as 'a relief'.

The band are set to release their new album 'I'm With You' on August 30, their first after  Frusciante's departure in 2009.

Speaking to The Sun about Frusciante's departure, frontman Anthony Kiedis said: ''The time John revealed his plans to move on was something everyone had sensed and was emotionally prepared for. You can't carry someone who doesn't want to be there – not that he was kicking and screaming. He played his ass off till the last note so his departure was a relief, but a positive relief.''

Bassist Flea added: ''It was different this time. We'd made three records with him and had a lot of success and John's writing and creative input was such a big part of that. I thought we'd never do it without John – it would be stupid to try. But when he left, I was presented with this new reality of what it was and it made me realise and we had to go on and could go on.''

As previously reported on Gigwise, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have announced details of a UK and Ireland arena tour, which is set to take place in November.

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