Public Enemy have canceled their entire Australian tour, just days after their first show in Melbourne on Saturday, October 5.
Australian promoter TEG Dainty released a statement on behalf of Chuck D and Flavor Flav on Monday, explaining that the cancellation was due to a medical emergency.
Frontman Chuck D, 64, will require ‘immediate eye surgery’, meaning US rapper and group co-founder Flavor Flav, 65, will be unable to continue the tour.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting a little longer, but I need to get this eye surgery done so I can really rock the house for you and Bring The Noise,” he said in the statement.
The release further revealed that more Australian dates would be added to the tour at a later date to make up for the canceled shows.
Ticket holders can request a refund or hold on to their tickets. These remain valid for the rescheduled performances that will be announced ‘in due course’.
The US rap icons were first expected to kick off their tour Down Under in Perth on October 2 before flying to Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle and Brisbane.
Due to ‘unforeseen scheduling issues’, promoter TEG Live canceled dates in Perth, Adelaide and Newcastle just five weeks before Public Enemy were due to perform.
Public Enemy (pictured) have canceled their entire Australian tour, just days after their first show in Melbourne on Saturday, October 5
Fans quickly expressed their disappointment on social media following the news, wondering why the shows were canceled.
On Reddit, some dejected fans suggested that the promoter’s reason for cutting the tour short was a “euphemism” for low ticket sales.
“They’re some nifty scheduling issues for the three shows that are likely to be undersold,” one fan wrote.
Another fan suggested there should be more transparency from promoters when canceling shows.
Australian promoter TEG Dainty released a statement Monday on behalf of Chuck D, 64, (left) and Flavor Flav, 65, (right), explaining that the cancellation was due to a medical emergency
“Sometimes it would be better for the promoter to say outright that he didn’t sell enough tickets,” they said.
“Claiming that there is a scheduling conflict as a reason to cancel a show, despite not canceling the show right before or immediately after, is giving away either way.”
Another said: ‘Yes, because it’s not profitable to book under-attended shows in isolated cities, and it’s also not profitable to have to cancel them.
‘Touring is business, and business goes where the money is.’
Public Enemy was founded in Long Island, New York in the mid-1980s by Chuck D and Flavor Flav.
They rose to prominence for their uncompromising sociopolitical messages and genre-defining albums, including Fear of a Black Planet and It Takes a Nation Of Millions to Hold Us Back.
Frontman Chuck D will need ‘immediate eye surgery’, leaving US rapper and group co-founder Flavor Flav, 65, unable to continue tour
