_Photo by Dino Perrucci_

On July 6, Elvis Costello published a statement on his official website, revealing a recent cancer diagnosis and effectively cancelling the final six shows of his European tour.

“Six weeks ago my specialist called me and said, ‘You should start playing the Lotto,’” Costello wrote. “He had rarely, if ever, seen such a small but very aggressive cancerous malignancy that could be defeated by a single surgery.”

The “Pump It Up” singer also admits that while he would like to perform immediately following surgery, it will take some time for him to get back into fighting shape. “The spirit has been more than willing but I have to now accept that it is going to take longer than I would have wished for me to recover my full strength,” he writes. “Therefore, I must reluctantly cancel all the remaining engagements of this tour.”

The affected dates span from July 6-16, in the UK, Croatia, Austria, Norway and Sweden.

Costello does, however, end the note with some uplifting news: “To leave you with some more optimistic news, The Imposters and I – together with several of our other friends – have made a magnificent new record of which we are truly proud. It will be issued in October, I believe. We will return at the soonest opportunity to play that music and your favourite songs that still make sense to us all.”

To read the whole statement click here.