JULIAN CASABLANCAS - RELUCTANT SOLOIST JULIAN CASABLANCAS

RELUCTANT SOLOIST JULIAN CASABLANCAS

The Strokes star Julian Casablancas has admitted he has only embarked on a solo career because his bandmates worked on their own projects.

Julian Casablancas never wanted a solo career.

The Strokes singer is about to release 'Phrazes For The Young', his first project away from the group and admits he only worked on the release because of his bandmates' individual ventures outside of the band.

He said: "I never really wanted to, but as everyone else was kinda going outside the circle... yeah, it was nice to work outside The Strokes".

Julian liked the freedom of working alone, but also found drawbacks with having the freedom to do whatever he wanted.

He explained to XFM radio DJ Steve Harris: "It was completely freeing, possibly too freeing...There's pros and cons with both ways. The Strokes is a tough musical jury. If something is going to survive in the band, it's got to please five incredibly picky dudes.

"That's the great thing about the band. It can also be stifling because you might have a vision for a part but you can't express what you want it to look like in its final stage. It's tough to get to that final stage because before it works, people say, 'I don't like it'."