Elvis Costello Cancels Tour Dates After Cancer Surgery

Elvis Costello has canceled several tour dates after revealing he was recently diagnosed with “a small but very aggressive cancerous malignancy.” The 63-year-old said in order to “recover [his] full strength” following surgery, his doctor advised him to pull out of multiple upcoming tour stops.

In a statement shared on his website Friday, Costello canceled six summer concert dates throughout the European leg of his Elvis Costello & The Imposters tour. He added that his doctor “defeated [the cancer] by a single surgery” six weeks ago.

The English musician hinted that he was advised to wait three to four weeks before returning to work, though he initially was excited to get back on the road.

“Six weeks ago my specialist called me and said, ‘You should start playing the Lotto,’” Costello wrote. “He had rarely, if ever, seen such a small but very aggressive cancerous malignancy that could be defeated by a single surgery.”

“I was elated and relieved that our European summer tour could go ahead,” he wrote. “It was impossible to judge how this advisory would line up with the demands on a traveling musician, playing 90-minute to 2-hour plus performances on a nightly basis but by the time we reached the Edinburgh Playhouse, I was almost fooled into thinking that normal service had been resumed.”

“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,” Costello’s statement continued. “Therefore, I must reluctantly cancel all the remaining engagements of this tour.”

The cities affected include: Manchester, UK (July 6); Pula, Croatia (July 8); Graz, Austria (July 9); Vienna, Austria (July 11); Tysnes, Norway (July 14); Rattvik, Sweden (July 16). Fans who had already bought tickets for those shows are encouraged to go to the point of purchase for refunds.

He seemingly plans to move forward with planned North American dates later this year, beginning in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on November 2.

Costello did not specify what type of cancer he was treated for, but encouraged his male fans to “talk to your friends – you’ll find you are not alone – seek your doctor’s advice if you are in doubt or when it is timely and act as swiftly as you may in these matters. It may save your life. Believe me, it is better than playing roulette.”

Costello explained that “pressing on with a show that is compromised” would have ultimately put his health “at risk.” He seemed to placate fans with the promise of new music.

“The Imposters and I — together with several of our other friends — have made a magnificent new record of which we are truly proud,” he said. “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.”

Beginning in the late 1970s, Costello defined “new wave” sound while defining himself as one of the UK’s most celebrated songwriters. In addition to his 24 solo albums, he has collaborated with music icons like Burt Bacharach, Allen Toussaint and the Roots.