Refunds will be available
The Stray Cats have cancelled their fall cross-country tour due to “serious illness” by frontman Brian Setzer. The group had dates planned through November 23rd.
“I’m heartbroken to share, due to serious illness, I am unable to perform and very regrettably have to cancel our Stray Cats tour,” Setzer shares. “I know this affects so many people and I am devastated to have to deliver this news. I’ve been trying everything I can to go on and do these shows, but it is just not possible. I’ve been looking forward so much to being on stage with my band mates again and playing for all of our amazing fans, and I’m gutted.”
Refunds will be available at the point of purchase.
Setzer has been diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that has affected his ability to play the guitar. He first noticed his hands cramping up towards the end of the last Stray Cats tour.
The Stray Cats are all three original members with Setzer fronting on guitar and vocals, Lee Rocker on upright bass and vocals, and Slim Jim Phantom on drums and vocals. They’re the band that put rockabilly music back on the record charts in the early ’80s, scored several big hits on both sides of the Atlantic thanks to a striking visual 1950s style brought “up to date” with exaggerated pompadours and colorful tattoos and as well as genuine musical chops that evoked the best players of rockabilly’s original heyday.
Formed in the Long Island town of Massapequa, NY, in 1979, the trio shared a love for rockabilly music. After banging around New York for a few months, in the summer of 1980, and seeing a pompadoured kid on the cover of UK magazine NME, they hopped a plane to London, where a rockabilly revival movement was just beginning to emerge.
Their massive hits and videos include “Runaway Boys,” “Rock This Town,” “Stray Cat Strut,” “(She’s) Sexy + 17,” and “I Won’t Stand in Your Way.”
