Depeche Mode is to reschedule its London O2 Arena show and cancel some European appearances after the full extent of singer Dave Gahan’s illness was revealed.
The singer suffered a severe bout of gastroenteritis on May 12, leading to his hospitalization and the cancellation of the Athens concert. Further medical tests then revealed a low-grade malignant tumor in Gahan’s bladder, which has since been successfully removed.
Gahan was told to rest until June 8 to ensure that he makes a full recovery. The “Tour of the Universe” will re-commence at Leipzig Zentralstadion in Germany on that date.
However, several dates have been canceled or postponed, including the U.K. synth-pop band’s London O2 Arena show, the only appearance in their home country on this run of the world tour. The Live Nation-promoted show will be rescheduled to a new date, which will be announced shortly. The band has further U.K. arena dates in December.
In a statement, the band said: “Dave Gahan sincerely thanks his fans for their support, understanding and patience. Depeche Mode deeply regrets any problems or inconveniences the cancellations and postponements may have caused.”
The May 31 appearance at the Pinkpop Festival in Holland is canceled, as is the June 7 show at Leipzig Zentralstadion, although tickets can be exchanged for the same venue on June 8 or the June 10 concert at Berlin Olympiastadion.
The show at the HSH Nordbank Arena in Hamburg will now take place on July 1, while concerts at Dusseldorf LTU Arena on June 4 and June 5 will be rescheduled, although dates will not be confirmed until July. The German dates are promoted by Frankfurt-based Marek Lieberberg Konzertagentur (MLK).
The Bergenhus Festning concert in Bergen, Norway has been rescheduled to Jan. 28, 2010 at the Vestlandhallen venue.
Before the announcement today (May 28), Depeche Mode had already pulled nine European stadium and arena shows in the past fortnight in Istanbul, Bucharest, Sofia, Belgrade, Zagreb, Warsaw, Riga and Vilnius. A final decision is due next week on whether they will be rescheduled or not.