So, all that confusion regards the immediate future of Aerosmith might be about to get legal. As previously reported, there has been much confusion of late as to the status of Steven Tyler as frontman of the legendary rock band.

When a planned tour had to be canned after Tyler pulled out, seemingly due to ill health, some of his bandmates, most notably guitarist Joe Perry, suggested their frontman was on the verge of quitting. Tyler, though, insisted he was still in the band, most notably following a bizarre impromptu performance at a gig of Perry's other band, The Joe Perry Project.

As the year ended, the Perry camp seemed to be suggesting that they thought Tyler would take a sabbatical from Aerosmith, during which time he and the rest of the band would continue to tour under that moniker but with a different singer. Meanwhile more recent rumours suggested that a search for an alternative frontman was already underway.

But Tyler, it seems, continues to consider himself to be the chief Aerosmither, so much so that his lawyer Skip Miller has sent a legal letter to the band's manager Howard Kaufman insisting he and the rest of the band stop planning projects that don't involve his client. According to Billboard, the legal letter insists that Kaufman "immediately cease and desist from engaging in acts and conduct to the harm and detriment of your own client, Aerosmith, and our client who is one of its members".

Miller has proposed a meeting of the band's "shareholders" - whoever they are - to discuss the future, including proposals for a new album and tour later this year. He told Billboard: "Steven Tyler does not want lawsuits. We do not want to go in that direction. The direction we want is Aerosmith, with Steven Tyler, touring in Europe, touring Latin America, releasing a new album... This is the direction it's all intended to go. It's just amazing to me current management would be taking any other position".

That meeting is proposed for 9 Feb. Whether it results in any clarification on what's going on in the world of Aerosmith remains to be seen.