U2 pull out of Glastonbury

The band cancelled their entire tour due to Bono's health...

12:10 25 May 2010

Rock band U2 has pulled out of their Glastonbury headline slot and cancelled their entire North American tour following BonoÂ’s emergency spinal surgery.

The U2 frontman's back injury was caused when preparing for tour dates, ultimately forcing the band to postpone all future tour dates.

Glastonbury chiefs have confirmed that the Irish rockers, who were due to headline the Pyramid Stage on Friday, will definitely not be appearing.

Bono stated that he is “heartbroken”, adding: “We really wanted to be there to do something really special - we even wrote a song especially for the Festival."

Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis has ruled out any news of an immediate replacement. He said: “It was obvious from our telephone conversation that U2 are hugely disappointed.

“Clearly, they were looking forward to playing the Pyramid Stage as much as we were looking forward to watching them. At this point, we have no comment to make about possible replacements for U2's Friday night slot. Instead, we would simply like to send Bono our very best wishes for a full and speedy recovery."

Jimmy Page was quick to state that he "wouldn't rule out" trying to get his Led Zeppelin bandmates to fill in the slot during a recent interview on BBC 6 music. Other acts rumoured were Coldplay and The Rolling Stones, however nothing has been confirmed.