Tom Jones battling an infection as he’s rushed to hospital
Pop veteran’s concerts cancelled
SIR Tom Jones has cancelled his gigs over the next few weeks after being taken to hospital with a bacterial infection.
The 78-year-old pop veteran, who had a hip replacement last year, was due to play at Chester racecourse last night but had to pull out due to his illness.
His spokesman said in a statement: “It is with regret that we postpone Tom Jones’ performance at Chester. The show will be rescheduled for Sunday August 12. All tickets will remain valid.
“Sir Tom Jones has a bacterial infection for which he is being treated in hospital. The condition is being well managed and we are hoping for a speedy recovery.
“He is extremely sorry and disappointed not to be able to perform tonight and sincerely apologises for inconveniences caused to the audience and all those involved in the event.” A similar statement was also released for a performance at Belvoir Castle near Grantham, Leics, on July 22. But concert promoters Live Nation said: “The intention is to carry on with the European tour from July 25 in Turku, Finland.”
Voice coach Sir Tom’s first cancelled gig was at Stansted Park, West Sussex, on Wednesday night.
He pulled out at the last minute after doctors advised him not to take to the stage, leaving fans disappointed. This isn’t the first time the singer has axed a show with little notice. He scrapped his US tour last September due to ill health, just five days before it was scheduled to kick off.
He later had the hip operation. Sir Tom said: “I did a summer tour all over Europe and I was seeing physiotherapists in different countries, they were stretching me out. “Years ago my sciatic nerve was giving me trouble in my hip and it felt like the same thing.
“It was a pain you couldn’t get rid of,
He is extremely sorry not to be able to perform and apologises for inconveniences
like a dull ache. I thought it was that. So the physiotherapists I was seeing over the summer were all working on it. I was feeling OK, but they said I needed to get it scanned to see what’s going on.
“I said I would once I got back to London. I didn’t miss a show because I was leaning more on my right leg.
“It was getting on and off the stage that was giving me trouble. You can’t limp on to the stage, you have to try and make an entrance.
“So I knew I had to do something about it. I got back to London and my surgeon said to me the cartilage is gone in my left hip, the bones are just crunching together.”
Sir Tom has had a career spanning six decades. In 2006 he was knighted by the Queen for his services to music.
SIR TOM’S SPOKESMAN ON STAR’S DISAPPOINTMENT OVER AXED GIGS