Rehab Kills Keane Tour

Tue., Aug. 22, 2006 10:15 AM PDT by Josh Grossberg

Keane is going from under the iron sea to under the radar for the near future.

The British alternarockers have scrapped a North American tour set to launch next month after frontman Tom Chaplin checked himself into rehab for drugs and alcohol.

"The time has come to get the professional help I need to sort myself out," he said in a statement on Keane's Website. "I feel desperately disappointed to be letting down our fans, but I want to get myself right now so that I can be back on the road for the rest of the year."

Consequently, the band also nixed a trio of European gigs--the Ibiza Rocks Festival in Spain on Wednesday, the T on the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh Aug 30, and a secret show in Dublin Aug. 31--in addition to dates in major U.S. and Canadian cities.

Those include the tour opener in Chicago Sept. 7; Detroit Sept. 8; New York City's Carnegie Hall and the Hammerstein Ballroom, respectively Sept. 13 and 14; Boston Sept. 16; Philadelphia, Sept. 17; Montreal Sept. 19; Toronto Sept. 20; and Atlanta Sept. 25.

New North American dates will be announced in the coming days, while refunds for the European performances will be available at point of purchase.

Keane's last concert was Sunday at the V Festival in Staffordshire, England. Earlier this month the piano-driven trio called off two Supersonic festival appearances in Japan due to a "family emergency," and the group last week announced that Chaplin was suffering from "exhaustion."

The band had been looking to build on increasing buzz in the wake of its latest album, Under the Iron Sea, which hit stores in June and immediately shot to number one on the U.K. album charts, largely on the strength of the singles "Is It Any Wonder?" and "Atlantic." The album opened at number four on the U.S. charts.

Keane became a critical darling and modern-rock favorite following the release of its 2004 debut, Hopes and Fears, which sold 5 million copies and netted the group two Brit Awards last year-- British Breakthrough Act and Best Album.

"Crystal Ball," the band's latest single from Under the Iron Sea, hit stores on Monday.