- guardian.co.uk,
- Wednesday July 02 2008 10.00 BST
England doesn't seem to agree with Björk, these days. Mere days after the cancellation of an appearance at the Wild in the Country festival in Hertfordshire, the Icelandic iconoclast has cancelled her only other English date - tonight's concert in Sheffield.
The gig at Sheffield's City Hall has been called off due to troubles with Björk's throat. "Due to ongoing throat problems, Björk has been advised by her doctors to rest her voice this week," reads a message on her website. Hopefully, there are Nordic pixies on their way, bearing magical throat lozenges. The news is particularly bitter medicine as the Sheffield gig was already a make-up date from a cancelled show in May. Ticket holders are now being advised to seek refunds, as the concert will probably not be rescheduled. "Björk is extremely disappointed to have to cancel the show and sends her apologies to everyone who had bought tickets," says her website.
Björk's headlining appearance at the Wild in the Country festival in Hertfordshire was also cancelled last week, due to logistical problems at the festival. Organisers were "unable to secure any staging, sound and lighting for this festival making it impossible for the headline artists to perform," Björk's website alleged.
The festival disputed this claim, saying in a disappointed tone that they thought things could still have been worked out. Still, organiser Geoff Oakes told NME he hoped "to be able to offer refunds to as many people as possible".
On the bright side, Björk spent a wildly successful weekend at Náttúra, an Icelandic concert she coordinated with Sigur Rós. The Reykjavik event was intended to raise awareness of aluminium smelting's impact on Iceland's ecosystem. According to their website, Náttúra was the biggest-ever live music event in Iceland, watched by 10% of the country's population. As 30,000 people crowded the stage, Björk herself appeared behind a Sigur Rós drum kit, pounding out the rhythm for Gobbledigook.
But that's probably not how she hurt her throat.
Remaining Björk tour dates: July 10 Helsinki, Finland - Finlandia Puisto; July 13 Vilnius, Lithuania - Vingio Park; July 16 Riga, Latvia - Arena Riga; July 20 Gräfenhainichen, Germany - Melt! festival; July 25 Rome, Italy - Parco Della Musica; July 28 Verona, Italy - Arena Di Verona; July 31 Athens, Greece - Olympic Indoor Sports Center; August 2 Istanbul, Turkey - Kurucesme Arena; August 7 Zambujeira do Mar, Portugal - Festival; Sudoeste TMN August 15 El Ejido, Spain - Ola! festival
