Culture Club have called off their first tour in 12 years following medical orders that Boy George stop singing. The 53-year-old frontman may require surgery for a painful vocal polyp which was discovered last week.
“To say I’m devastated barely touches how I feel,” George wrote on Facebook. At Culture Club’s recent gigs the singer was apparently playing through pain: “In true British fashion, I have ignored it, thinking the problem might just be tiredness,” he explained. But a Los Angeles doctor sent “a series of cameras down [his] throat”, uncovering a haemorrhaged polyp that won’t close when George sings.
“I have been advised by doctors that to continue singing with this polyp would further damage my voice and could cause irreparable damage,” George went on. He may need throat surgery, much as Adele underwent in 2011.
Culture Club’s 21 dates in the UK and US would have represented the full original lineup’s first tour since 1986. The concerts were due to begin in Rancho Mirage, California on Saturday, extending to Bournemouth on 15 December. Although organisers hope to reschedule the shows, refunds will be available at the points of purchase.
“I feel gutted to be letting people down,” George wrote. “[But] I will definitely get better, and see you all soon.”
Culture Club are due to release Tribes, their first album since 1999, in early 2015.
