Founding the rock band Electric Light Orchestra in 1970, Jeff Lynne scored 20 Top 40 hits and joined the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. Now 77, the rocker was ready to settle down, but not before giving E:LO fans a proper send-off. Unfortunately, the “Mr. Blue Sky” vocalist contracted a nasty infection that forced him to cancel the final two shows of the band’s career. Nearly a week later, Lynne is speaking out.
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Jeff Lynne Is Recovering From a Health Issue
Taking to social media Friday (July 18), Jeff Lynne informed fans that he is now at home recuperating from the infection that put him out of commission for ELO’s final bow.
“I was absolutely gutted to have to cancel the final two shows,” Lynne wrote. “I send my heartfelt thanks to all of the fans as well as my band and crew for all their support and love.”
Fans expressed a mixture of sympathy and disappointment in the comments. “Glad you are OK but you owe us one last show please,” one Instagram user wrote.
Added another, “Your wellbeing comes first. We know that cancelling any show would be the most difficult of decisions. Yes we are all disappointed, but more so for you. Get and stay well Jeff.”
An unspecified illness prompted the cancelation of ELO’s July 10 performance at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England. Just days later, the announced Lynne was still too unwell to take the stage for the July 13 tour finale at London’s BST Hyde Park. Doctors advised the “Evil Woman” singer that performing was “simply not possible.”
He Has Said He Isn’t Retiring
Unfortunately, ELO will also not reschedule its final shows. “It may well be that we have seen the last of Jeff Lynne as a live performer,” lamented one Reddit user.
However, the man himself says that isn’t the case. “This is not a farewell to music,” Lynne told Mojo magazine last December. “I am excited to return to the studio full-time, which is what I love!”
Lynne most recently released a solo album, Long Wave, in 2012.
Featured image by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images
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