SINGER and rapper Example has been forced to cancel UK and Ireland tour dates after being struck down with illness.
The music star – real name Elliot Gleave – was devastated to let down his fans and apologised in a video shared on Instagram.
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The flu-stricken star, 41, didn’t take the decision to postpone his Belfast and Dublin shows lightly, but he has still been criticised by some.
He wrote on social media: “Belfast and Dublin are off. It is with great regret that I have to announce this. I’ve been looking after myself all tour. Getting to bed early. Sleeping loads. Going to gym most days. My body has succumbed to the tour bus flu that a few people have had.
“If I were a DJ or a guitarist I would soldier on. But I have to be able to sing my heart out and MC and hype the crowd and jump around to deliver you the best performance possible, which I can’t do in my current state. In the next few days we will let you know if the two shows have been rescheduled or cancelled and you can get a refund. Thank you for understanding. E.”
In the accompanying video he coughed and spluttered as he revealed he’s spent the past two days in bed and taken a whole host of remedies to try and get better.
He had been set to perform at Belfast’s Telegraph Building last night and Dublin’s 3Olympia Theatre tonight. It remains to be seen if he will be well enough for his show in Cardiff on Friday.
Acknowledging complaints from his fanbase, Elliot set the record straight and denied faking his illness.
He wrote: “To all the people saying ‘I’ve paid for hotels and trains and planes’. I feel you. It’s an awful situation. But I didn’t get sick on purpose.
“To all the people saying I’ve got a hangover – I don’t drink.
“To all the people saying it’s a fake cough… I am in the UK right now to work. I am missing my kids every minute of every day. If I was faking this I’d be an idiot. Cos I miss out on being paid. I miss out on entertaining my fans. All while missing my kids. It’s been almost a month now without them.”
The Brit-nominated hitmaker’s biggest tracks include Kickstarts, Changed the Way You Kissed Me and Stay Awake.
Elliot split from his model ex-wife Erin McNaught in 2022 after 11 years and two children together.
He said at the time: “At the start of the summer we decided to separate. We had an amazing 11 years together, but a few too many adventures.
“Obviously we spent a lot of time behind the scenes trying to figure things out, but we came to the realisation that perhaps our time as a couple had just come to a natural end.
“We have decided to go our separate ways whilst there is still an abundance of love and respect for one another.”
In one of his newer tracks, Eye To Eye, he called Erin his “saviour” after he admitted doing “every drug under the sun” and “getting absolutely battered every night” when he first started out in the music scene.
He told The Sun: “Eye To Eye is really about loads of back-stabbers and how people use you for money and fame.
“Erin saved me from an early death. I was partying too much. You’re burning the candle at both ends, doing 120 festivals a year, 100 flights a year and you’re partying four or five nights a week.”
He is now in a relationship with art advisor Daisy Cox.
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