September 20, 2002 15:17

PEARL OF A SONG FOR LAYNE

But the ode to the heroin overdose victim Layne Staley may never see the light of day...

PEARL JAM star EDDIE VEDDER has written a song about the death of ALICE IN CHAINS singer LAYNE STALEY - but it may never see the light of day.

Staley, who was 34, was discovered at his apartment in the University district of Seattle earlier this year (April 19) after police were called when nobody had seen him for a number of weeks. He died of a drugs overdose.

Alongside Nirvana and Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains were at the forefront of the mid-'90s grunge scene out of Seattle.

Staley was a founding member of the group with guitarist Jerry Cantrell, and had a well-documented battle with drugs throughout his career.

According to the official Pearl Jam website, Vedder has written the track, but it won't feature on their forthcoming album 'Riot Act', released in November. The posting says that the song will "probably not be released".