Culture Club cancels tour, Boy George ailing : Report

Boy George has called off a reunion tour of Culture Club after the singer discovered he had developed a potentially serious throat problem.

The 53-year-old said that after a few months of throat complications, doctors found a polyp that may have to be surgically removed.

“After having a series of cameras down my throat it transpires that I have a polyp on one of my vocal chords which has hemorrhaged and one of my vocal chords is unusually enlarged and won’t close properly when I sing,” the ’80s icon wrote in a Facebook message explaining the cancellation.

A “gutted” George, whose real name is George Alan O’Dowd, also noted that doctors said that if he doesn’t give himself time to recover now, the consequences could be lasting.

“I have been advised by doctors that to continue singing with this polyp could further damage my voice and could cause irreparable damage, it’s a risk just cannot take, ” he wrote in the same message.

Culture Club re-formed earlier this year to record “Tribes,” a new album due out next year, and had planned a 10-date US tour followed by 11 shows in the UK.

“We are hoping we can reschedule the concerts for next year, and hopefully George’s problem will be resolved,” the band said in a statement.

The tour would have been the band’s first since 2002.

Agencies/Canadajournal