Acclaimed Scottish singer Colin Macleod has postponed his show in Aberdeen due to concerns over the Omicron variant.
The Lewis-based singer, who is also a crofter on the island, was scheduled to headline The Tunnels on Saturday.
Macleod took to social media to apologise to his fans for postponing his Scottish tour.
He says he is ‘gutted’ to pull the plug on the the four-date run of shows which were lined up to promote his recent album Hold Fast.
Macleod reassured fans he aims to reschedule the concerts for spring 2022.
The singer, who duets with nine-time Grammy award winner Sheryl Crow on his new album, says it ‘got to the point where it didn’t really feel safe anymore’.
He said: “I have some news, and unfortunately it’s not good news.
“As I’m sure you’ll be aware things have been changing for the worst with Covid again.
“There’s lots of new cases and things are looking very uncertain.
“I’ve been getting a lot of messages about the tour.
“People saying they don’t feel safe and they don’t feel like they can come to the gigs and are worried.
“In light of this, I have taken the decision to postpone the tour until the spring.
“It’s really gutting. It’s quite galling.”
An ‘incredibly tough call’
Macleod recently completed a tour in support of Queen drummer Roger Taylor.
His headline Aberdeen performance this weekend was hotly anticipated.
The singer insists postponing the tour was an ‘incredibly tough call’. However, he had to put the safety of fans, his band and touring party first.
He said: “This is not the first time I have had to postpone this tour and it’s hard not to feel luck is against you on this one.
“There’s nothing we can do. We didn’t plan for this and certainly didn’t know it was coming.
“Being that it’s so late in the day that we are making this announcement shows that we really, really tried.
“We really wanted to do this tour and were really pushing for it.
With everything going on at the moment, we’ve decided to postpone my upcoming tour. We’re still working to confirm the new dates so, please hold on to your tickets and we will be in touch via your ticket provider to confirm the new dates (see my Instagram for a personal message)
— Colin Macleod (@colinmacleod_) December 14, 2021
“It got to the point where it doesn’t really feel safe anymore and the best thing to do.
“I don’t want to put any of you guys in a difficult position and I don’t want to put any of you in jeopardy.
“I don’t want to put my band and all the people that travel with us in any sort of difficult position as well.
“This is an incredibly tough call and I know a lot of you will be really upset.
“I know a lot of you are travelling to the gigs and I’m really sorry.
“That’s all I can offer you is an apology.
“We will be out in the spring to do these gigs, I promise.”
Online Christmas show for fans
Macleod has played live with Sheryl Crow and toured with Led Zeppelin’s great Robert Plant.
He has also performed on the Late Late Show with James Corden in the United States.
During the lockdown last year Macleod performed live online sessions for his fans.
As a way of apology for postponing the tour, he will play live online Christmas shows next week.
He wants fans to tune in and ‘have a dram together, sing some songs and think about good things’.
He said: “As a form of some kind of apology I’m going to do some lockdown songs next week.
“We are going to do some Christmas online gigs on Instagram like the old days.
“I’ll keep you posted on that.
“Lets all have a dram together, sing some songs and think about good things.
“I hope you can come when the tour is rescheduled.”
Ticket holders have been advised to hold onto their briefs as new dates will be confirmed.
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