Ottawa (AFP) – Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie has terminal brain cancer, the Canadian band announced Tuesday ahead of what is likely to be a farewell tour.
Downie, 52, was diagnosed in December, he and his bandmates said on their website.
“We have some very tough news to share with you today, and we wish it wasn’t so,” the statement started, adding that Downey “has been fighting hard” since his diagnosis.
The alternative rock band broke out in the 1990s with hits such as “New Orleans is Sinking,” “Blow at High Dough” and “38 Years Old.”
In 2005, The Tragically Hip was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and three years ago was featured on a Canadian stamp.
“No band in our history has embraced/defined #canadianity more than The Hip,” actor Jonathan Torrens of the television series Trailer Park Boys said in a Twitter Message.
“Gutted by this news. Gord IS Canada”
The band’s 14th studio album, “Man Machine Poem,” will be released next month, and a tour is being planned for this summer.
“After 30-some years together as The Tragically Hip, thousands of shows, and hundreds of tours… We’ve decided to do another one,” the band said.
“This feels like the right thing to do now, for Gord, and for all of us.
“What we in The Hip receive, each time we play together, is a connection; with each other; with music and it’s magic; and during the shows, a special connection with all of you, our incredible fans.”
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