Avril Goes It Alone

Avril LavigneThere was a time when Avril Lavigne surrounded herself with men.

But that's all in the past now.

The punk princess has announced she's ditching her all-male touring crew.

At a warm-up gig ahead of her 2008 North America tour, Avril told the audience she will no longer be joining her cast of back-up men aboard their bus.

The singer, who recently scored a double whammy with two prizes at the MTV European Music Awards, said she no longer felt like a tomboy.

"I'm a bit more girly now," Avril told the crowd, in explaining why she'd decided not to go on the bloke bus.

Nothing to do with smelly socks and up-ended toilet seats then?

Instead of joining her fellas, it seems Avril, who wed fellow Canadian Deryck Whibley last year, will have a specially designed bus all for herself.

All in pink, we imagine. We can lend her some fluff and stuff, if she likes.