Jeff Lynne forced to pull out of BST Hyde Park after contracting illness

Jeff Lynne has been forced to cancel his planned BFT Hyde Park concert this weekend after falling ill. The team working with the 77-year-old music star had previously revealed he was suffering from ill health.

A statement issued on Saturday confirmed the news, announcing: "Jeff Lynne is heartbroken to report that he will not be able to perform at tomorrow’s BST Hyde Park show.

"Jeff has been battling a systemic infection and is currently in the care of a team of doctors who have advised him that performing is simply not possible at this time nor will he be able to reschedule.

"The legacy of the band and his longtime fans are foremost in Jeff’s mind today -- and while he is so sorry that he cannot perform, he knows that he must focus on his health and rehabilitation at this time."

A spokesman had previously vowed that the concert would be going ahead as planned for this Sunday. They claimed there were "no concerns". The sold-out headline slot at the London music festival on Sunday had been described by the organisers astheir final “goodbye”.

The news comes after the band cancelled their Thursday night performance at Manchester’s Co-Op Live due to “illness”. A fan who was at the ELO gig a day before the cancelled explained to the Mirror: “At the start of the set he came on and couldn’t play the guitar because he has injured his hand.

"He sounded shaky to begin with but his singing and energy picked up and was great until the last 10 minutes of the show.

“A chair was brought onto the stage and he had to sit down to sing the last few songs, he appeared to be unsteady on his feet at the end and was helped off the stage by staff. He really wasn’t well, it was obvious to fans at the gig he wasn’t himself and it is sad to see.”

Jeff had previously battled with a broken hand whilst performing with the group on his farewell concert.

The band was founded in the 1970s in Birmingham by Jeff and keyboardist Roy Wood. He later left the band and was replaced by Richard Tandy, who performed until he died last year aged 76. The group split in 1986 and is known for fusing classical music, Beatles-style pop and futuristic rock visuals.

They were also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. The group is best known for hits such as Livin’ Thing, Mr Blue Sky, Telephone Line and Evil Woman.

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