Sum 41‘s Deryck Whibley has shared his hopes of reuniting with the band’s former frontman, Jon Marshall.
READ MORE: Sum 41 tell us about “aggressive” final album ‘Heaven :x: Hell’: “It’s the perfect way to go out”
The Canadian pop-punk band, who recently performed their last ever UK show at Download Festival, was briefly fronted by Marshall, who left the group after only a year in 1997.
Whibley, who took over on vocals, recently told the Daily Star that ‘Johnny Libertine’, a track from their latest release, ‘Heaven :x: Hell’, was written with Marshall in mind.
“[The song] is a reference to Jon. He was the most punk-rock guy I have ever known,” he said.
“We were 16 when we knew him and he was in this delirium, no plan B, we destroyed everything. He was my best friend, then he left the group never to be seen again.”
The ‘In Too Deep’ singer had no contact with Marshall after his departure, and has said he would have liked a proper farewell, noting he got “nothing at all” from the former frontman over the years.
“I would like a ‘goodbye’”, he said, noting that the most recent album was the band’s way of saying it to fans, having announced in 2023 they were set to split after releasing their final album and going on a world tour that concludes in 2025.
“We could not make a better record to say goodbye,” Whibley said of the album. “I want Sum 41 to stop at a moment when everything surrounding the group makes us happy.”
Speaking about future plans, Whibley said he wanted to pursue “other projects” including songwriting. Discussing the prospect of the final gig after 28 years in the band, he said he’d ask himself: “What the fuck am I going to do now?”
Elsewhere, he joined ex-wife Avril Lavigne to perform a Sum 41 song at a Vegas show, and recently celebrated 10 years of sobriety.
Reflecting on the personal victory, he took to Instagram to say: “I write this not to brag, but to recognize and be grateful for the moment. I’m glad it was hard to get here. I’m happy it took a lot of work and wasn’t easy. And most of all I’m thankful for all the help.”
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