NEIL Young and Crazy Horse have cancelled their sell-out Liverpool gig after guitarist Frank "Poncho" Sampedro broke his hand.
The August 19 concert, which was to have featured Ian McNabb in support, was one of the final seven dates of their European tour and marked a return to the city for Young after 40 years. He last played at the Liverpool Empire in 1973.
"It's a mild fracture," a source said. "He's expected to make a complete recovery in time for the North American tour in three weeks time.”
Last tour
The group has been on tour for much of the past year, but Sampedro said earlier this year that he felt it could be the last fling for the ageing rockers and so far there are no plans for a re-match.
My gut tells me this is really the last tour," he told Rolling Stone Magazine. "I hate saying their ages, but I'm 64 and I'm the baby of the band. I love playing and we're playing as good as we ever did, but at any time, something could go down with any one of us."
Here is the complete statement from Young's website.
Due to an accident involving Crazy Horse, the remaining dates on the Neil Young and Crazy Horse tour of Europe and the British isles have been cancelled. We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes to our fans or the festivals where we were scheduled to appear. As you must be, we too are disappointed at this unfortunate turn of events.
Neil Young and Crazy Horse are scheduled to begin their short North American tour on August 31 at the Greenbelt Harvest Picnic in Dundas, Ontario.
The Echo Arena appearance was quickly embraced into the fold of the new Liverpool International Music Festival when it was first announced in March.
