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U2 cancel Glastonbury appearance
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 26 May 2010
Following the previously reported emergency back surgery he underwent last week, Bono has announced that he, and therefore U2, will not be able to play this year’s Glastonbury Festival, as well as a string of US dates.
According to neurosurgeon Dr Joerg Tonn, the singer was training for U2’s upcoming tour dates last week when “sudden onset disease” rendered him temporarily paralysed. He added that Bono had been discharged from a Munich hospital on Monday, following the surgery there on Friday, saying: “The surgery was the only course of treatment for full recovery and to avoid further paralysis. Bono is now much better, with complete recovery of his motor deficit. The prognosis is excellent, but to obtain a sustainable result, he must now enter a period of rehabilitation”.
Bono broke the bad news to Glasto mainman Michael Eavis by telephone yesterday, who apparently wasn’t that bothered about the US dates but pretended to be concerned anyway (that’s conjecture there, people; though it did definitely happen). In a statement issued through the Glastonbury website yesterday, Bono said: “I’m heartbroken. We really wanted to be there to do something really special – we even wrote a song especially for the festival”.
Eavis added: “It was obvious from our telephone conversation that U2 are hugely disappointed. Clearly, they were looking forward to playing the Pyramid Stage as much as we were looking forward to watching them. At this point, we have no comment to make about possible replacements for U2’s Friday night slot. Instead, we would simply like to send Bono our very best wishes for a full and speedy recovery”.
The performance would have been U2’s first appearance at the festival, and Eavis’ decision to stay tight lipped on the matter of a replacement has led to much speculation amongst people on the internet, and even some others in the real world via the use of their mouths. Coldplay are currently thought to be the most likely to take the slot. Kylie Minogue, who was also forced to cancel her planned appearance at the festival due to health reasons in 2005, has been tipped by some, though it has been pointed out that she has other commitments in Paris on that particular Friday night.
I wonder if the other members of U2 have considered performing without Bono? With the Glastonbury audience so split of the merits of band’s performance there anyway, it might turn out to be a welcome compromise.
