Sir Rod Stewart was forced to cancel his sell-out Aberdeen concert at the 11th hour as high winds and rain battered the north and north-east.
AECC team announced at 11am that “adverse” weather would prevent the veteran rocker taking to the stage in Bridge of Don, with doors due to open at 5pm for the outdoor event.
Sir Rod’s concert, which would have been his first before a Granite City audience in nearly 10 years, has been rescheduled for July.
The cancellation came as bad weather caused disruption on West Coast line rail services.
A fallen tree between Carlisle and Lockerbie led Virgin Trains to advice customers not to travel between Scotland and England.
Passengers on the east coast also faced disruption, though it was not weather related – instead commuters were delayed by the latest in a series of signalling faults, this time at Carnoustie.
Virgin trains said the closure of their route to Scotland was causing “significant disruption”.
Forecasters have warned that the wet and windy weather will continue across the country this week but should gradually improve.
A statement from the concert promoters said that the dreich and miserable conditions would have risked safety had the Rod Stewart gig gone ahead.
A spokeswoman said: “Due to adverse weather conditions this evening’s concert at AECC outdoors has had to be postponed.
“Sir Rod and his team always believe the show must go on and this decision has not been taken lightly.
“However, due to the high winds and bad weather it would not be safe to go ahead with this evening’s concert.
“We are pleased to announce that working with the venue, we are able to reschedule the concert to Tuesday July 16.
“All existing tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled date, and ticket holders are not required to take any action.
“Customers requiring assistance are requested to contact their point of purchase.
“We apologise for the inconvenience this causes everyone but safety is our priority.”
A Met Office forecaster said weather should begin improving today, albeit only to a degree.
He said: “Thursday will be generally quite wet with patchy rain coming in from the east.
“In the south there is more heavy and persistent rain with Yellow and Amber warnings being issued.
“To the north in Aberdeen it will be wet but not that heavy and will begin clearing on Thursday.
“The weekend will be drier but there is still a chance of showers.
“As the rain is coming in from the east, areas in the west of the Highlands will be drier, escaping the worst of the rain.
“Scotland is not on the list for heaviest rainfall. The heaviest rainfall has been in England.”
