Barenaked Ladies lead singer Steven Page, who was arrested for cocaine possession last July, is leaving the Canadian rock band to begin a solo career. The departure follows a tumultuous 2008 for the band which also saw Page sentenced to six months probation for the drug charge and singer Ed Robertson survive an August plane crash.

"By mutual agreement, Steven Page will be parting company with the remaining members of Barenaked Ladies," the band wrote on its official Web site on Tuesday evening. "Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart will continue recording and touring together as Barenaked Ladies. Steven Page will pursue solo projects including theatrical opportunities while the band enters the studio in April 2009, and hits the road in the fall."
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"These guys are my brothers," Page said in the statement. "We’ve grown up together over the past twenty years. I love them and wish them all the best in the future.”