The Who has officially canceled its 2021 European dates. Last month the band postponed its UK and Ireland tour, which was set to launch on March 16th in Manchester, England and run through April 8th in London — marking the second time the pandemic forced them to push back the shows.
A formal announcement was issued on the Who's social platforms:
Unfortunately, The Who’s forthcoming UK and Ireland tour due March 2021 has now been canceled. Customers can contact their point of purchase regarding refunds.
Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend added: “We are very sorry that we have to cancel our planned March 2021 UK and Ireland shows. Please excuse the delay but we wanted to wait as long as possible to see if we could indeed play them. However, as you can see the current situation makes this impossible. Thanks for all your wonderful support and we hope to see you in the future when conditions allow.”
Pete Townshend told us that for the time being, he sees the Who remaining an ongoing concern: “Looking ahead, I'm not sure. . . I mean, Roger has said, y'know, he doesn't know how much longer he can sing the way that he's singing, but he's singing incredibly well — and has been for the last five, six years — I mean, better than ever, I think. But, he has said he doesn't know how long he can go on doing that. But at the moment, I'm not saying that this is the end of anything. We all have brands now, which you can take into Vegas, if you want to. It's so strange to have that brand that is bigger than either of us.”
CANCELED: The Who's tour dates:
March 16 – Manchester, England – Manchester Arena
March 18 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena
March 21 – Newcastle, England – Utilita Arena
March 23 – Glasgow, Scotland – SSE Hydro Arena
March 25 – Leeds, England – First Direct Arena
March 30 – Cardiff, Wales – Motorpoint Arena
April 1 – Birmingham, England – Resorts World Arena
April 3 – Nottingham, England – Motorpoint Arena
April 6 – Liverpool, England – M&S Bank Arena
April 8 – London, England – SSE Wembley Arena