Los Angeles (CNN) — The Calling’s lead singer, Alex Band, told police he was abducted, beaten and robbed Sunday, just hours before his group announced a comeback effort.
Band told investigators he was walking down a street in downtown Lapeer, Michigan, about 3 a.m. Sunday when two men forced him into a blue minivan, according to a police statement.
The singer “reported being assaulted, robbed, and dropped off on another street,” according to Lapeer Police Sgt. Craig Gormley.
Another band member picked Band up and took him to the emergency room at McLaren Lapeer Region hospital, Gormley said. He was treated and released, he said.
Police, who interviewed Band at the hospital, are investigating, Gormley said.
Word of Band’s alleged abduction hit online celebrity websites Monday morning — at the same time entertainment reporters received an e-mail from a publicity firm announcing The Calling is coming back “stronger than ever” after “fighting through trials and addictions.”
The singer has “brought together a new band and has a fresh look on his past hits like ‘Wherever You Will Go,'” the news release said.
Band “was at the height of music stardom in the early 2000s pop world but took a severe, almost death drop on a roller-coaster of a ride by almost dying from drug abuse combined with the struggle of personal relationships,” the release said.
“Having a global hit was amazing, but due to my personal struggles and relationships I was robbed of the enjoyment of being on the top of a musical high of a career,” it quotes Band saying. “I dropped everything to fight for my ailing wife, followed by a divorce, which equaled with a substance abuse problem that almost took my life. Coming out of my addiction with yet another struggle is something of a freedom. This second chance and has given me great fodder for our new music.”
The rock/pop group is “in the midst of signing a major record deal and are setting up a global tour to bring forth their music to a world-wide fervent fan base,” it said.
The comeback announcement would normally get little attention in the media, but coverage of Band’s alleged abduction put The Calling back into the headlines.
CNN’s Denise Quan and Tory Dunnan contributed to this report.
