Gerard Way has said that My Chemical Romance‘s 2013 split was “nobody’s fault”.
Speaking to Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1, the band’s former frontman discussed the reasons for their split, saying the band broke up because “It was time.” He continued: “I think because it was so special and it was such an amazing thing… to keep going and let it rust out on the rails? That was not the way that band was supposed to go out.”
He added that everyone in the band was “pretty upset” about the split. “I think we’re all pretty upset,” said Way. “It wasn’t an easy thing to come to. It was sad, because it wasn’t a situation where anybody hated each other. It was nobody’s fault.”
“You should always be doing new things and changing and growing as a human being,” added Way, saying that with My Chemical Romance it was “Mission accomplished!”
Way recently unveiled his first solo single, ‘Action Cat’. The song trails his first solo LP which is set for release this autumn. Speaking to Lowe, Way said he never considered stopping making music. “I knew I had to keep going,” he said. “I love music. I found a new love for music by making this record… To run away from music or hide from it just because one stage of my life was ending? To me that would be really tragic to stop.”
Speaking about the new material, Way said the album references the music that he listened to when he was leaving high school and becoming a young adult, name-dropping a host of Britpop acts, including Blur, Pulp, Elastica, Sleeper and Teenage Fanclub. “A lot of it is discovering my place in music, which is that I don’t exactly fit in – which is a good thing… it’s about positive alienation,” he said.
Way will play his first ever solo shows at this year’s Reading and Leeds Festivals.