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Bryan Adams concert canceled for a most unusual reason

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Bryan Adams in concert.
Bryan Adams in concert in 2024. Raph_PH/Creative Commons

We’ve heard of concerts being canceled because of severe weather or technical issues, or possibly even illness. But calling off a show due to a “large blockage of fat, grease and rags”? Well, that’s a first.

And it’s happened to none other than Canadian music legend Bryan Adams, who’s currently on tour in Australia.

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Adams took to Facebook on Sunday to apologize to fans who’d been looking forward to seeing his performance at the RAC Arena in Perth on Australia’s west coast.

“I’m really sorry we couldn’t make this happen tonight,” Adams wrote. “I was so looking forward to seeing you all. I appreciate your patience and support and can’t wait to be back and play for you as soon as we can reschedule.”

Perth officials responsible for the city’s sewers apologized for the unexpected situation, and recommended that people should “avoid contact with any pooled water” in parts of the city, “as it may be sewage following a major blockage on a sewer.” It said that it had teams “working to clear the large blockage of fat, grease and rags, which has caused several wastewater overflows at properties along Wellington Street,” adding that the Bryan Adams concert at the RAC Arena was called off “due to the risk of sewage backing up within the venue toilets, posing a potential public health risk.”

It’s not the first bizarre reason that’s caused a major artist to postpone a show. Neil Young was forced to pull out of a European tour in 1997 after slicing off the top of one of his fingers when attempting to cut a ham sandwich in half. Young said at the time: “I’d have eaten the thing in one piece if I’d known that cutting it in half would jeopardize the tour. It’s macaroni and cheese from now on.”

And then there was the time in St Louis in 2010 when Kings of Leon abandoned a concert after just a few songs because pigeons kept pooping on the band members. Hopefully Adams will escape such undignified interruptions when he finally gets to play to fans in Perth.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
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