‘I could hardly stand up to the infection’: Carl Palmer talks about his decision to bow out of Asia tour

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Drummer Carl Palmer describes his excruciating experience with E. coli in a new message to fans, a day after his illness forced the cancellation of a UK tour in celebration of his band Asia’s 30th anniversary.

“I have always been proud of the fact that I have never cancelled a tour in my professional career, in 47 years as a musician,” says Palmer, in a new message on his Web site. “It had always been a personal goal of mine to maintain this feat, now sadly lost.”

Palmer, who rose to fame as a member of Emerson Lake and Palmer, subsequently joined a second supergroup in Asia in the early 1980s. Along with bassist and frontman John Wetton (King Crimson/UK), guitarist Steve Howe (Yes) and keyboardist Geoff Downes (Buggles/Yes), the group would issue the best selling album in the United States in 1982, their eponymous debut album.

Three decades later, Asia has issued a new studio release, titled XXX, and was in the midst of a tour in support of the album — when Palmer was struck down. A doctor’s visit broke the bad news.

“I was given less than a 10% chance of playing the tour,” Palmer said. “On Thursday afternoon, I had lost my battle and under strict instructions from my doctors I was told I had to cancel. By this time I could hardly stand up to the infection. E-coli had completely taken over.”

Asia had been scheduled to play seven dates this month — including Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester and London — beginning tomorrow and continuing through December 22, 2012. Refunds are available where the original tickets were sold, according to Asia.

“I would like to say to the people of Holmfirth and my home city of Birmingham, and to all the other places we were about to play,” Palmer added, “please accept my deepest apologies.”

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Asia’s cancelled UK dates are:

Tavistock The Wharf (Dec 15)
Holmfirth Picturedrome (Dec 16)
Edinburgh Queen’s Hall (Dec 17)
Salisbury City Hall (Dec 19)
Birmingham Town Hall (Dec 20)
Manchester Royal Northern College of Music (Dec 21)
London o2 Shepherds Bush Empire (Dec 22)

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