Kasabian have been forced to cancel several Australian dates and have been quarantined after singer Tom Meighan contracted swine flu.
Meighan is said to have fallen ill after travelling from Japan to Australian, and was taken to hospital shortly after their arrival. As a result, the other band members have been forced to stay in their hotel rooms. Speaking in The Sun newspaper, guitarist Serge Pizzorno said: “We’re all sick as dogs, man. It’s pretty terrible. It’s a bit of a virus that we picked up in Japan. It’s so tough, I am confined to my hotel room and I look out and see the Opera House and the harbour, and so want to be out there in it all.”
“The doctor says it will take a couple of days and we need to stay in our rooms and chill, but we hope to be rocking and rolling very quickly. It’s what we’re on the road to do.”
Kasabian are on the road in support of new album ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’ which was released in June this year. The album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and is one of the favourites to take the award.
They hope to resume their world tour in Malaysia this weekend, before hitting the UK for an arena tour at the end of this month.
UPDATE:
Kasabian can breathe a sigh of relief, as the band have been cleared of swine flu.
They’ve been given the green light by doctors – a spokeswoman for the band confirmed to the Press Association.