Arts / Aly Bain postpones gigs after heart surgery
ALY BAIN and Phil Cunningham have postponed upcoming dates in Shetland after the fiddler underwent triple heart bypass surgery.
Bain is “now out of hospital and has begun the lengthy recuperation process” following the operation last week.
The pair were due to perform at Mareel and Lerwick in August.
The musicians said in a statement that Bain started to feel increasingly unwell during a spring tour in Scotland.
Immediately after the tour he went for tests and was admitted to hospital.
“Last week, he underwent open heart surgery and a triple bypass was successfully performed,” they wrote.
“Thankfully, his diagnosis and treatment were speedy and he is now out of hospital and has begun the lengthy recuperation process.
“Aly is extremely grateful for the attention and skills of all at the Royal Infirmary who were involved in helping him through this unexpected episode. Due to the invasive nature of his surgery, there is a lengthy road ahead to full recovery.
“Therefore on advice, and with careful consideration, Phil and Aly have agreed that August is too soon for Aly to be back in the saddle and regrettably they will have to postpone all concerts for most of that month.
“Aly will be working hard with Phil to be match fit for the second half of the tour and they plan to return to the stage on 31 August in Eden Court Theatre Inverness.
“Our agents, Firefly productions, will work very closely with all affected venues to reschedule the gigs and minimise the disruption to them and of course our valued audience. This is the first time, in their 33 year duo career that they have had to cancel a tour due to ill health. When Phil had his heart attack in 1997, he waited till after the tour!”
Shetland Arts said all customers for the two local gigs have been refunded and details of new tour dates will be released as soon as they are available.
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