LONDON: Veteran singer Tom Jones announced Saturday that he was reluctantly postponing a US concert tour scheduled to kick off next week because of health issues.
The 77-year-old Welsh crooner said on Twitter that his fall tour would be delayed “following medical advice. He did not reveal the state of his health or provide further details.
Jones sent his “sincere apologies” to US fans planning to attend the shows. A statement on his website said the rescheduled tour would take place in May and June of next year and that tickets for the postponed shows would be honored.
Jones had been expected to begin a lengthy US tour in Pennsylvania on Sept. 6. He has enjoyed a long career that began with “It’s Not Unusual,” “What is New Pussycat” and other hits in the mid and late 1960s.
He was for a time one of the world’s most popular recording artists and after attracting a new generation of fans with 1999’s “Sex Bomb,” has never lost the ability to attract concertgoers.
Jones received a knighthood from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 for services to music.
The surprise postponement of his tour dates prompted numerous concerned comments from fans who wished him well on Twitter. Jones’ wife of 59 years, Linda, died last year of cancer.
Singer Tom Jones postpones US tour due to medical issues
Singer Tom Jones postpones US tour due to medical issues
Egypt’s grand museum begins live restoration of King Khufu’s ancient boat
- The 4,600-year-old boat was built during the reign of King Khufu, the pharaoh who also commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza
CAIRO: Egypt began a public live restoration of King Khufu’s ancient solar boat at the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum on Tuesday, more than 4,000 years after the vessel was first built.
Egyptian conservators used a small crane to carefully lift a fragile, decayed plank into the Solar Boats Museum hall — the first of 1,650 wooden pieces that make up the ceremonial boat of the Old Kingdom pharaoh.
The 4,600-year-old boat was built during the reign of King Khufu, the pharaoh who also commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza. The vessel was discovered in 1954 in a sealed pit near the pyramids, but its excavation did not begin until 2011 due to the fragile condition of the wood.
“You are witnessing today one of the most important restoration projects in the 21st century,” Egyptian Tourism Minister Sherif Fathy said.
“It is important for the museum, and it is important for humanity and the history and the heritage.”
The restoration will take place in full view of visitors to the Grand Egyptian Museum over the coming four years.
