Ex-JOURNEY Frontman STEVE PERRY On His Return To Live Stage: 'I Had Forgotten How Much I'd Missed It'

Ex-JOURNEY singer Steve Perry, who made a second surprise guest appearance with EELS over the weekend, says that he is not trying to reunite with his former band despite the fact that JOURNEY's current frontman, Arnel Pineda, has said Perry would be welcome to reclaim "his righteous place."

In addition to singing the EELS' song "It's A Motherfucker" and a cover of Sam Cooke's "Only Sixteen", Perry — whose rumored return to JOURNEY has been the cause of rock gossip and band denials for several years — delivered the same two JOURNEY classics — 1981's "Escape" power ballad "Open Arms" and 1979's "Departure" album standout "Lovin,' Touchin', Squeezin'" — that he performed with EELS on May 25 in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Perry told Classic Rock magazine: "People have been putting two and two together — but this wasn't about a reunion with JOURNEY. There is no reunion. I was just having fun."

He added: "I've always loved 'It's A Motherfucker' because it's about loss and pain. We played it together in rehearsal, and the next thing I know I'm in Saint Paul. Some day I'm going to record that song.

"In a world where it's hard to keep a secret, it felt so much fun to walk out there to an unsuspecting crowd."

Perry also commented on the way he was introduced by EELS' singer and primary songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, who explained Perry had walked away from JOURNEY because "it didn't feel right." Perry told Classic Rock: "I couldn't have put it better — that's exactly what happened. It had run its course."

Regarding his return to the live stage, Perry said: "When E announced me, I thought I'd take the piss and hang back a while. But finally I'm out there; the audience saw me, and I hadn't experienced that kind of emotion in quite a while. It was beyond exhilarating.

"I was so grateful that they were so loving and happy to see me. I was just as happy to see them. I had forgotten how much I'd missed it."

Asked if he was happy with his performance, Perry replied: "Well, I hadn't sung in 20 years — I sounded more like Otis Redding than I did in JOURNEY; and I love Otis, so that's not a bad thing. But after twenty years, wherever you hit that golf ball is where it lands. I just wanted to go out there and hit the ball. I was pretty pleased with what I pulled off.

"I'm not the person I was thirty years ago; that person is gone."

Perry's unannounced appearance with EELS in Saint Paul marked his first public performance since his last solo tour in 1995.