Wings frontman Datuk Awie has taken the recent departure of two long-time bandmates in stride and described the reshuffle as a natural cycle for music groups worldwide.

Awie, whose real name is Ahmad Azhar Othman, 57, said the exit of bassist Eddie and drummer Black, announced just days before the group’s Wings 40: 4 Dekad Terbang Tinggi anniversary concert, should not be viewed as a crisis.

“Band changes happen everywhere and no line-up stays together forever,” he told reporters at a press conference for Sembilu The Reunion Live in Concert.

He added that there was no animosity and that he holds no grudges toward his former bandmates.

Awie said he has always prayed for their well-being and success in this life and the next, including good health and continued prosperity.

“People do not need to know what I pray for but today I am saying it openly. Every time I prostrate, they are in my prayers,” he said.

Awie also clarified remarks he made during the finale of the Wings concert when he dedicated several of the group’s classic tracks to unnamed individuals said to have abandoned the band’s journey. According to him, the message was symbolic and tied directly to the song list.

“There is nothing more to it. It was simply a list of songs. It just happened that some of the titles matched what I was feeling at the time. I did not arrange it with any hidden meaning,” he explained, adding that the sequence was set without intentional references.

Eddie and Black officially announced their departure from Wings on Oct 8, 2025, ending decades of collaboration with the iconic Malaysian rock group.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE