Rock star denies cancer fears
ROCK singer Justin Hawkins has denied the illness that forced him to cancel three shows was anything more serious than laryngitis.The flamboyant frontman of top-selling Lowestoft band The Darkness insisted he not had suffered a cancer scare through fears of a node on his vocal chords.
ROCK singer Justin Hawkins has denied the illness that forced him to cancel three shows was anything more serious than laryngitis.
The flamboyant frontman of top-selling Lowestoft band The Darkness insisted he not had suffered a cancer scare through fears of a node on his vocal chords.
Hawkins, whose trademark high-pitched vocals have propelled the band to fame, said he had battled a form of laryngitis, an infection in his voicebox and swollen vocal chords.
He was forced to pull out of a show in Liverpool on Saturday after being laid low by the virus and had to cancel two further shows this week in Folkestone and Portsmouth.
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Reports in a national newspaper suggested Hawkins had been told a node – which are caused by wear and tear and can turn cancerous – was found on his vocal chords, even though further tests proved had proved negative.
But a spokeswoman for The Darkness said the reports of Hawkins's supposed cancer scare were "rubbish".
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Hawkins told the band's website on Sunday: "I would like to offer my sincerest apologies for what happened last night – it's the first time we've ever had to pull a show and nobody could be more disappointed than me.
"I've often felt a little hoarse of a morning, but usually my hour-long pre-show warm-up blows away the cobwebs.
"Yesterday was different, and I didn't realise how serious the problem was until around 8.30pm when my voice disappeared altogether.
"Liverpool's finest ear, nose and throat consultant found that I have laryngitis and an infection in my voicebox and I have swollen vocal chords which are (worryingly) causing mischief."
Hawkins reassured fans he was in good health when the band returned to the stage in Hammersmith on Wednesday.
The cancelled shows will be rescheduled and tickets will be made valid. The current tour is to promote their number one album Permisssion To Land.
