Michael Sweet reiterates that he didn’t leave Stryper back in 1992 to pursue a solo career

Michael Sweet reiterates that he didn’t leave Stryper back in 1992 to pursue a solo career

Stryper frontman Michael Sweet is apparently intent on setting the record straight about his departure from the band back in 1992.

The following message was posted on Sweet‘s Facebook page on August 10, 2021:

“For the record, I didn’t leave Stryper in 1992 to pursue a solo career. I left to save my marriage and to focus on my family and to get my priorities in order. God, family and everything else.

I did write some material and I even recorded a demo but that’s NOT why I left the band. I left because the band was in a bad place and we were on a slippery slope. We weren’t the band that we started out to be and I didn’t like where we were heading. That’s why I left Stryper. For anyone thinking it was self gratification and or self motivation to pursue fame and fortune as a solo artist, that’s just not true.

The reason why I’m posting this is I’ve seen multiple comments lately from fans saying that I left to start a solo career and that it wasn’t cool for me to do. That’s just not accurate. I wanted to save my marriage, my family, my life. Music is always secondary

Hopefully this post will once and for all clear that misunderstanding up.

M“

Wikipedia reports the following surrounding Sweet‘s departure from Stryper back in 1992 (with slight edits):

“On July 20, 1991, after being signed to Hollywood Records by label exec Wesley Hein (who had originally signed them to his Enigma Records), Stryper released a greatest hits collection called Can’t Stop The Rock, which featured two new songs. One of which was the Gulf War inspired “Believe”. The band continued to tour until February 1992, when frontman Michael Sweet departed the band citing artistic differences and to pursue a solo career.

In early 1992, Stryper fulfilled some commitments in Europe as a trio with Oz Fox on lead vocals. Soon after, on May 5, they performed two shows at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. They asked Dale Thompson of the Christian metal band Bride to fill in on lead vocals hoping he would join the band. It was during one of the concerts that Robert Sweet unexpectedly announced that Dale Thompson was going to be their new lead singer. This, however, was later denied by Thompson. In early 1993, the band played several more European dates as a trio with their last show on March 27, 1993 in Sportzentrum, Greifensee, Switzerland. Upon returning to the United States, the remaining members decided to go their separate ways.

Michael Sweet signed with Benson Records in 1993 and released his first solo effort in 1994. It went on to sell 300,000 units, achieve five No. 1 Christian CHR hit singles and three No. 1 rock singles. Michael Sweet has released multiple solo records which were hugely successful in the Christian music market.”