Classic Rock Legends Cancel Concerts After ‘Accident’: Read the Statement From Scorpions

German hard rock band Scorpions have been forced to cancel the upcoming German leg of their Love at First Sting 40th anniversary tour after guitarist Matthias Jabs suffered an unspecified injury. The group announced the cancellation of the five concerts in their home country in a statement shared across their social media profiles on Thursday.

“We deeply regret, especially Matthias Jabs, that due to the accident of our friend and SCORPIONS lead guitarist, the five concerts on our German tour cannot take place in September as planned and we will work closely with the tour organizer to announce new information as soon as possible,” the group said. “We kindly ask for your understanding from all our fans, all the Rock Believers in Germany who were looking forward to the shows with us.”

Scorpions did not share further information regarding Jabs’ injury or when he will be ready to get back on stage. The five impacted dates were the final stops on the Scorpions’ Love at First Sting 40th anniversary tour and include all concerts in Germany from Sept. 11 through Sept. 20: Sept. 11 – Nuremberg, Germany at Arena Nurnberger Versicherung; Sept. 13 – Hamburg, Germany at Barclays Arena; Sept. 15 – Leipzig, Germany at Quarterback Immobilien Arena; Sept. 18 – Cologne, Germany at LANXESS Arena; and Sept. 20 – Frankfurt, Germany at Festhalle.

The group most recently took the stage at Germany’s Wacken Open Air Festival on Aug. 1. The group currently doesn’t have any shows scheduled past the German leg of their tour. It’s unclear if those dates will later be rescheduled.

The string of cancellations and news of Jabs’ injury sparked a wave of comments from fans. Replying to the group’s Facebook announcement, one person wrote, “I’m sorry to hear about Matthias. I hope he gets well soon. Sending a big get well hug to Matthias,” with another person writing, “Sending all the best wishes! I hope Matthias has a full recovery and gets better soon.” Somebody else wrote, “Oh my goodness!! This is awful news!! Please please get better quickly!! Matthias we need your amazing guitar riffs in this world!! Speedy recovery!!”

The German rock band was formed in Hanover in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker and has undergone numerous iterations in the decades since. Singer Klaus Meine remains the only original member and has appeared on all of the band’s studio albums. Jabs, meanwhile, joined the group in 1978. The current lineup also includes bassist Paweł Mąciwoda and drummer Mikkey Dee. Their most recent album, Rock Believer, was released in February 2022.