Two Door Cinema Club cancel upcoming tour as band member falls ill

The local trio have thanked the NHS and fans for their support

Author: Emma DicksonPublished 6th Sep 2022

Northern Irish electro-pop band Two Door Cinema Club broke the news yesterday that bassist Kevin Baird is suffering from an "incurable autoimmune disease".

The band shared that they have since cancelled their upcoming European headline tour, so Kevin can undergo surgery and treatment.

In a post on the band’s social media pages, Kevin writes: "Earlier this year I was diagnosed with an incurable autoimmune disease and have been receiving treatment for this by the incredible NHS.

"After a lot of long chats with my doctor we’ve decided that the next step is surgery to remove the affected organ after which it should be much more manageable.

"I’m scheduled to have the operation in a few weeks so I’m really sorry to have to tell you we’re going to have to cancel our EU tour in September/October."

Hailing from Bangor, Co Down, festival favourites Alex Trimble, Sam Halliday and Kevin Baird, were set to perform in France, Belgium and several locations in the Netherlands and Germany later this year.

The band just released their fifth studio album ‘Keep On Smiling’ last week and was written and produced by the band both during and coming out of lockdown.

Reassuring fans that the band plan on return to the stage as soon as possible, Baird added: "As for shows later this year, as it stands the medical advice I’ve been given is that we’ll have to wait and see how the recovery goes after my operation.

"We will of course keep you guys updated as to whether the North American tour will proceed, as soon as we know, you'll know.

"I know this is far from ideal and we're so sad we won't be able to make these EU shows happen, we've been so looking forward to seeing you after so long!

Baird closed his emotional statement by thanking the NHS and his bandmates for their support, adding “thanks to all of you for being the best fans in the world”.

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