Kings of Leon forced to cancel UK and European tour after ‘freak accident’

Kings of Leon have been forced to cancel their upcoming UK and Europe tour shows after a ‘freak accident’.

The Sex on Fire rockers were set to hit the road later this summer for performances in Cardiff and Lancashire, as well as stints in Spain, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, Belgium and Portugal.

However, frontman Caleb Followill shared a video on the band’s official Instagram page, announcing that the gigs had been called off after he broke his foot in a ‘gnarly’ injury, shattering his heel.

‘Hello to everyone out there, especially our European fans that are coming to see us this summer,’ the 43-year-old – who shares two children with model wife Lily Aldridge – began.

‘Unfortunately I regret to inform you that those shows will have to be cancelled due to a freak accident that happened the other day.

‘I broke my foot pretty bad just playing with my kids… It’s pretty gnarly and I’ll spare all the details. But we’re fortunate enough to have some great doctors here in Nashville that gave me emergency surgery.

‘I’m on the mend, but they’ve told me that I can’t be on my feet, travelling, or anything for the next eight weeks or so. That’s a big bummer.’

‘We were so excited. We’ve been preparing for this tour for a long time, we’ve been preparing for a lot of things’ Caleb shared, shaking his head.

‘We’ve been in the studio recording, we have a bunch of new songs, we were going to debut a few of them on this run.

‘We had a lot of exciting things planned and now we’re going to have to pivot and find a new way to continue the work that we’ve started.’

‘I’m very excited for when we do get to show you the stuff we’re doing, and in the meantime we’re going to do whatever work we can while I have these limitations,’ he added.

‘Exciting stuff is coming, I know this isn’t the message anyone wants to hear, and it’s certainly not the message I want to be sending, but it’s going to be alright.

‘Everything is going to be good. Hopefully, we will see y’all soon.’

Caleb concluded the video by panning the camera across to his leg, which was wrapped up in a cast.

The group, also made up of Jared, Nathan and Matthew Followill, issued a separate statement, offering further insight into the musician’s injury.

‘Kings of Leon are updating fans that Caleb Followill has recently sustained a serious injury, shattering his heel and requiring a significant emergency surgery, that will prevent him from travelling and performing,’ it read.

‘The anticipated recovery process is expected to take eight weeks, under strict guidance of expert orthopaedic specialists.

‘The band regrets to report that they will need to cancel all upcoming UK and European festival headline shows in June and July of this year.’

The chart toppers, who have blessed us all with hits including Use Somebody, Closer and Radioactive, were due to have a busy few months.

They were slated to hit the stage in Cardiff in June, followed by a headline slot at Lytham Festival in Lancashire at the beginning of July, beside Justin Timberlake and Alanis Morissette.

Festival organizers wished Caleb a ‘speedy recovery’, and shared that they will be unable to secure a replacement headliner ‘at this late stage’, meaning the bash will now run for four days instead of five.

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