The Fratellis have promised fans they will return to live shows “as quickly as possible” after being forced to cancel their upcoming tour.
The group were set to begin a run of dates this week marking 20 years since the release of their 2006 debut album Costello Music, but the shows were called off at short notice because of frontman Jon Fratelli’s ongoing health issues.
Despite the setback, the band remain hopeful of a swift return. In a statement shared on Instagram, they wrote: "We are really sad to announce that our Costello Music 20th anniversary tour has been postponed.
"Unfortunately, Jon is unable to perform right now due to ongoing health issues. With the tour so close, it breaks our musical hearts to take this decision but in light of medical advice that Jon takes time to recover it’s the only sensible option."
They also reflected on a serious health scare earlier in their career, explaining that it was something that nearly brought everything to an end, but one they chose not to let stop them.
The statement continued: "Not long after The Fratellis were born (end of 2004/beginning of 2005 depending on who you argue with) we were faced with a far more serious medical obstacle that should have ended our dream there and then.
"The thing is we just point blank f***ing refused to accept that we couldn’t do what we’d set out to do. Taking no for an answer was no answer at all. We had stuff to do. We were going where we were going. End of.
"With a wee bit of time we’ll do now what we did then … whatever it takes to get back onstage as quickly as possible, playing music for anyone who loves our thing as much as we do."
The band confirmed they are still planning to appear at their scheduled summer festival slots and are aiming to rearrange the cancelled tour dates as soon as possible.
They added: "We were blown away by the reaction to this tour and can only promise that we are as disappointed as you at having to wait a little longer to celebrate Costello Music’s 20th Birthday.
"We’ll do everything possible to announce the new dates ASAP. With the postponement of the tour we’re even more excited at the prospect of seeing many of you at our summer festival dates ... they really can’t come quickly enough."
The postponed run included planned stops in London, Nottingham, Bristol, Newcastle, Cardiff, Norwich, Lincoln, Liverpool, Manchester, Wolverhampton, Portsmouth, Southend and Leeds.
