Berlin - An impending European tour by chart-topping German male band Tokio Hotel was cancelled Tuesday after singer Bill Kaulitz, 18, was booked into surgery on his over-used vocal cords. A spokeswoman for Four Artists, the company managing the sold-out "1000 Hotels European Tour," said in Berlin that a second medical opinion had advised that Kaulitz needed surgery "as soon as possible" to save his voice.
"We have already had to call off the concerts in Portugal, Spain, France and Italy," Four Artists said. "Now we'll have to cancel the rest of the tour as well." An announcement was likely next week on whether the tour would be rescheduled or called off entirely.
Fans had also been waiting for the group in Sweden, Slovenia, Serbia, Finland, Denmark and Norway. Tokio Hotel, which began as a schoolboy group, has soared up European pop charts and the group has also begun to win a following elsewhere in the world.
In Dortmund, Germany, more than 100 teenaged fans who had set up camp to claim the best seats at a concert next Monday went home in disappointment. A municipal spokeswoman said many of the girls had been in tears, but there was no rage as they left.
The Four Artists spokeswoman said it was not yet known how long Kaulitz would take to recuperate.
The vocal cords are mucous membrane that are the main feature in phonation or voice production.
Growths can develop on the cords, often as a result of over-use. Singers often develop the condition. The voice becomes hoarse and the singer cannot maintain a note for so long as before.
One common way to remove the additional tissue is by microsurgery.
