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Health Scare Sidelines Art Garfunkel: UK Tour Dates Pulled

A respiratory infection diagnosis—caught during a rehearsal checkup the 84-year-old nearly skipped—has forced all four stops of his October UK tour to be pushed back, with venues now scrambling for new dates.

Health Scare Sidelines Art Garfunkel: UK Tour Dates Pulled

A routine check-up he almost blew off ended up saving Art Garfunkel—while throwing his tour plans into disarray. The 84-year-old Simon & Garfunkel legend revealed that while rehearsing for his "What A Wonderful World" tour, he'd wanted to skip a scheduled doctor's visit, but his wife Kim insisted he go. That's how they discovered he had a respiratory infection.

As a result, all four UK shows originally set for next week have been postponed. The tour was supposed to kick off on October 13 at Watford Colosseum, followed by stops at Manchester Opera House and the University of Wolverhampton at The Civic Hall, before wrapping up at Royal Albert Hall on October 19. All four venues have now put the original dates on hold and are coordinating new tour dates. Ticket holders are advised to hang onto their tickets and wait for rescheduling announcements.

In a statement, Garfunkel described himself as "heartbroken," saying "at this stage in my life, to be received with such warmth and surrounded by so much love is a gift beyond words." He also had a message for fans: "Please don't worry about me—I'm in very good hands and expect to be fine soon." Doctors have advised him to rest and recover.

The next show currently remaining on the tour schedule is at L'Olympia in Paris on October 21, followed by a run of US dates kicking off in Virginia on October 30.

Vocal health has long been a battle for Garfunkel. Back in 2010, he was diagnosed with vocal cord paresis—a partial paralysis of one vocal cord—which forced the cancellation of a planned Simon & Garfunkel reunion tour, and the two haven't performed together since. Still, he told NME in 2024 that he and Paul Simon had reconciled after years of estrangement, saying, "We ended the rift with a lot of honest confession," and recalling how, after admitting he'd once deliberately hurt Simon during an interview, "the next moment I was crying... and then there was a hug."

Garfunkel's most recent album is 2024's cover collection *Father And Son*, recorded with his son Art Garfunkel Jr.

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