English rockers Status Quo cancel Berlin show after lead singer Francis Rossi 'picks up chest infection'
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Rockers Status Quo have had to cancel tonight's show at the Friedrichstadtpalast in Berlin after lead singer Francis Rossi was struck down by illness.
The band released a statement on Monday morning that said: "He appears to have picked up a chest infection which has left him incapacitated and unable to sing.
"He is currently receiving medical attention in Germany and has left it to the last possible moment to cancel in the hope that he would be able to recover enough to perform, but unfortunately that has not been the case."
(Image: PA)
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Status Quo’s manager Simon Porter added, “We hate to have to cancel shows and hope that the fans realise that these situations are outside of our control. There’s absolutely no way that Francis could take to the stage and deliver the kind of performance that the band’s fans expect and deserve”.
The English band has had over 60 chart hits in the UK, more than any other rock band, and are most known for their songs Pictures of Matchstick Men, Whatever You Want and In The Army Now - with a career spanning decades after forming in the 60s.
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68-year-old Francis has fronted the band since 1962 and appeared on the Band Aid charity single Do They Know It's Christmas - having also opened the famous Live Aid concert.
The rocker is now teetotal, having admitted to living a "rock and roll" lifestyle at the height of the band's fame, claiming to have spend £1.7 million on cocaine in the 80s.
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He once said in an interview with The Telegraph : "I've got a hole in my nose. I really wish I hadn't become a coke addict or a drinker, I don't like either."
While they've cancelled Monday night's gig, the band's website is still saying the group will play scheduled acoustic shows in Frankfurt on Tuesday and Baden Baden on Wednesday - with the group steadily performing until their last show of the year on 21 December in Nürnberg.
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Their cancelled show comes nearly a year after founding member of the band Rick Parfitt passed away on Christmas Eve 2016.
Rick had been recuperating since June, 2016, when he suffered a heart attack on stage but, in fact, passed away after contracting a severe infection following a shoulder injury.