Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Adele cancels tour finale Wembley shows

By | Published on Monday 3 July 2017

Adele

Adele cancelled the final two shows of her world tour on Saturday, halfway through a four night finale at Wembley Stadium. In a statement, she reveals that she damaged her vocal cords during the first two performances.

Ahead of the first show of the Wembley Stadium residency, the singer had said that she may not tour again after completing this run of 123 shows. “[I] have a terrible history of touring”, she wrote on Instagram. “Until now that is! … It has been hard but an absolute thrill and pleasure to have done [it]”.

However, after suffering vocal problems on the first two nights, she said that she had been warned by doctors not to play the following two shows. Her previous tour in 2011 was cut short after she haemorrhaged a vocal cord, requiring surgery. Clearly avoiding that outcome again is a high priority.

“The last two nights at Wembley have been the biggest and best shows of my life”, she wrote in a statement in the early hours of Saturday morning. “To come home to such a response after so long away doing something I never thought I could pull off but did has blown me away. However, I’ve struggled vocally both nights. I had to push a lot harder than I normally do. I felt like I constantly had to clear my throat, especially [on Friday] night”.

She continued: “I went to see my throat doctor this evening because my voice didn’t open up at all today and it turns out I have damaged my vocal cords. On medical advice, I simply am unable to perform over the weekend. To say I’m heartbroken would be a complete understatement. I’m already maxed out on steroids and aids for my voice. I’ve considered doing Saturday Night’s show, but it’s highly unlikely that I’d even make it through the set and I simply can’t crumble in front of you and walk out on you in that way”.

The Sun has subsequently reported that Adele had been suffering from bronchitis in the run-up to the shows. In her statement, the singer added that she was “so desperate” to do the final two concerts that she’d “even considered miming”, but added: “I’ve never done it and I cannot in a million years do that to you all. It wouldn’t be the real me up there”.

Apologising to the fans who would now miss out on the finale shows and had spent money travelling to see them, she added: “Who the fuck cancels Wembley Stadium?! To not complete this milestone in my career is something I’m struggling to get my head around and I wish that I wasn’t having to write this. I have changed my life drastically in every way to make sure I got through this tour that started at the beginning of last year. To not be able to finish it is something I’m really struggling to come to terms with. It’s as if my whole career have been building up to these four shows”.

It is hoped that the two cancelled shows can be rescheduled, though if not tickets will be refunded.



READ MORE ABOUT: