Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello cancels gigs after health scare

The final six dates of Elvis Costello’s current tour have been cancelled on doctor’s advice, including tonight’s (July 6) scheduled show in Manchester and his July dates in Croatia, Austria, Norway and Sweden.

In a statement issued today, Costello has apologised to his fans and revealed that he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous growth six weeks ago, and has not yet fully recovered from the procedure.

“Six weeks ago my specialist called me and said, ‘You should start playing the Lotto’. He had rarely, if ever, seen such a small but very aggressive cancerous malignancy that could be defeated by a single surgery,” Costello says in his statement. “Post-surgical guidelines for such surgery, recommend three weeks to four weeks recovery… by the time we reached the Edinburgh Playhouse (on June 24), I was almost fooled into thinking that normal service had been resumed.

“I have to thank our friends attending last night’s show in Amsterdam and those in Antwerp, Glynde and at Newcastle City Hall for bearing me up. The spirit has been more than willing but I have to now accept that it is going to take longer than I would have wished for me to recover my full strength. Therefore, I must reluctantly cancel all the remaining engagements of this tour.

“My apologies go to our ticket holders in Manchester, Pula, Graz, Vienna, Tysnes and Rattvik but I would rather disappoint our friends there by not appearing than in pressing on with a show that is compromised and eventually puts my health at risk.”

On a more positive note, Costello’s statement also talks about “a magnificent new record of which we are truly proud. It will be issued in October, I believe. We will return at the soonest opportunity to play that music and your favourite songs that still make sense to us all.”

Fans with tickets for the following cancelled shows should contact their point of purchase for refunds:

  • 6 July: Manchester, Castlefield Bowl
  • 8 July: Pula, Pula Arena
  • 9 July: Graz, Kasematten – Schlossberguhne
  • 11 July: Vienna, Konzerthaus
  • 14 July: Tysnes, Tysnesfest Gjesrstad Arena
  • 16 July: Rattvik, Dalhalla
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