David Bowie has been forced to cancel all his live dates in July, including his sets at the Oxegen, Roskilde and T in the Park festivals, because of that trapped nerve in his shoulder.
As previously reported, the injury first caused Bowie real problems when he had to cut short a concert in Prague last week after his shoulder pain became unbearable. It was hoped with some rest he could continue with his European tour, but after his set at the German Hurricane Festival he was admitted to hospital and a handful of European dates due to take place this week were postponed.
Yesterday a spokesman for Bowie confirmed the singer was going to have to cancel all forthcoming scheduled performances. In a posting on his website a statement read: "Due to the continuing pain and extreme discomfort from a trapped/pinched nerve in his shoulder and to prevent possible further injury, David Bowie has been advised by his doctors to cancel his performances at the 11 remaining European festival dates throughout July. Due to the unpredictable nature of the condition and in an effort to give fans as much warning as possible, (and indeed, to aid promoters in finding a replacement headliner in time for the festival dates) David Bowie very reluctantly agreed to take the advice. "David, and everybody involved with the tour, is very sorry for the hardship that this difficult decision may have caused."
Scottish music festival T in the Park and Irish festival Oxegen both wished Bowie well, and quickly announced British rock band The Darkness would take over his headline slot at their events. Organisers of the Roskilde festival confirmed Slipknot would take over Bowie's slot on their bill.
Commenting on the last minute line up change a spokesman for T in the Park told reporters: "We're disappointed by today's news that David Bowie will not be able to perform at this year's T in the Park due to ill health, and everyone at the festival sends him our best wishes for a speedy recovery. This year we have one of the strongest ever T in the Park line ups across all stages, and on Saturday night we'll see our other headliners The Darkness stepping up to close the Main Stage, which will be a real treat for the Balado audience."