Russell Brand cancels tour dates

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/entertainment/7890367.stm

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Comedian Russell Brand has been forced to cancel three of his UK stand-up tour dates due to a sore throat, his publicist has said.

Brand apologised to fans in a statement saying: "I'm in bed, very confused, at the specialist's insistence."

The shows at London's Hammersmith Apollo on Friday and at Glasgow's Clyde Auditorium on Saturday and Sunday have been rescheduled for April.

Tickets for the cancelled gigs will be valid for the new dates.

"I will make it up to everyone at the rescheduled gigs on 9, 10 and 11 April," said Brand.

"I'm alone - except for the cat, who I'm thinking of putting a bikini on - it must be the fever."

Brand began his tour in January in the wake of the fall-out over his lewd phonecalls to the actor Andrew Sachs.

The furore over the "prank" calls, which he made along with presenter Jonathan Ross in October, led to Brand resigning from his BBC Radio 2 slot.

Ross was suspended from his BBC shows for 12 weeks.

Brand is currently trying to forge a film career on top of working as a stand-up comedian.

Brand has put the phonecall debacle at the heart of his stage show, entitled Scandalous.

A BBC review of his first gig in Reading said "the first 25 minutes or so were taken up purely by the Sachs affair, interspersed with Brand showing clips from news bulletins".

Ticket holders who cannot attend the new dates should return their tickets to the point of purchase by 14 March.

All other shows on the tour are expected to be unaffected.