KISS has pulled the plug on the Australian leg of its farewell tour only days before it was scheduled to begin.
According to promoters, Paul Stanley has a throat infection "requiring complete vocal rest and medication for at least two weeks and possibly longer.”
In a statement, the 67-year-old rocker said: “Words cannot begin to convey our massive disappointment in having to cancel our End Of The Road tour of your incredible country. Our connection to you is unparalleled and decades deep.
“We waited as long as we could and held out hope to the last minute that my situation would clear up and we would be able to march forward ... finally we now find ourselves with no choice but to surrender.”
The Australian tour was scheduled to kick off Nov. 16 in Perth but, earlier this week, KISS announced it was postponing the show to Dec. 3 because Stanley had the flu. The new start date was Nov. 19 in Adelaide, followed by shows in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane and Perth.
Promoters One World Entertainment and TEG Live said in a statement they were “devastated” by the cancellation but “send our best wishes to Paul for a speedy recovery.”
KISS launched its End of the Road World Tour on Jan. 31 in Vancouver. It included shows in Montreal, Toronto, Quebec City and Ottawa.
A September show in Salt Lake City was bumped to March so Gene Simmons could undergo a medical procedure, two September shows in California were postponed to March due to "a scheduling issue" and a December concert in New Zealand was cancelled.