A beloved singer has been forced to cancel shows after facing ‘unimaginable’ pain that ‘demanded immediate attention’.
Paul Simon rose to fame in the 1960s as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel alongside school friend Art Garkfunkel.
After gaining a legion of fans releasing songs like The Sound of Silence and Bridge over Troubled Water, the American singer- songwriter went on to pursue a career as a solo artist in the 1970s.
Throughout his career, Paul has won 16 Grammy Awards and been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, realising his most recent album Seven Psalms in 2023.
In April he kicked off his A Quiet Celebration Tour, which began in New Orleans and will travel throughout North America and Canada before ending in Seattle in August.
However, this weekend he had to pull the plug on two performances just a few hours in advance due to ongoing health issues.
Posting a statement online, his team explained that the 83-year-old could no longer play his scheduled shows at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.
‘Paul has been struggling with chronic and intense back pain,’ it began. ‘Today it became unmanageable and demands immediate attention. Unfortunately, we have to cancel these shows at this time, as we don’t have the ability to reschedule them.”
‘However, we are hopeful after this minor surgical procedure which has been scheduled in the next few days, Paul will be able to complete the tour as well as look into returning to make up these dates.
‘In the meantime, please go to your point of purchase or local ticket provider for a full refund.’
Paul is next set to play at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center’s Terrace Theater in Long Beach, California on July 7.
His tour features the live debut of his Grammy-nominated album, Seven Psalms, along with a ‘celebration of his timeless classics’.
However when it was announced earlier this year, it was explained that he’d chosen ‘intimate venues with optimal acoustics for this tour’ as he had been dealing with ‘severe hearing loss’.
The musician had previously announced his retirement from touring in 2018 due to hearing loss.
At the time he explained: ‘I’ve often wondered what it would feel like to reach the point where I’d consider bringing my performing career to a natural end. Now I know it feels a little unsettling, a touch exhilarating and something of a relief.
‘I love making music, my voice is still strong, and my band is a tight, extraordinary group of gifted musicians. I think about music constantly.’
Last year he explained he’s now lost 94% of hearing in his left ear and has been told by doctors that there is no cure, which has also left him unable to play certain songs from his catalogue, including his 1986 hit You Can Call Me Al.
‘I’m going through my repertoire and reducing a lot of the choices that I make to acoustic versions,’ he said on CBS Mornings. ‘It’s all much quieter. It’s not You Can Call Me Al, that’s gone. I can’t do that one.’
‘I guess what I’m most apprehensive about would be if I can’t hear well enough to really enjoy the act of making music.’
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