Journey cancels UK and Ireland shows days following lawsuit

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Rock band Journey, who performed in Toronto last week, will not be in the United Kingdom and Ireland for shows this fall.

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According to multiple reports, the band released a statement to ticket holders this week announcing the abrupt concert cancellations for October and November.

“Due to circumstances beyond the band’s control, Journey’s U.K. and Ireland tour is unfortunately cancelled,” the band said in an email. “Refunds will be made from your point of purchase.”

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Concert listings on Tickemaster indicate the shows have been cancelled.

The upcoming shows were to be Journey’s first time back in the U.K. and Ireland in more than a decade.

Journey, performing with Cheap Trick, were to begin their overseas trip in Cardiff on Oct. 30 and continue with shows in Nottingham, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham and Newcastle upon Tyne before ending in London at the O2 Arena on Nov. 17.

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The band, whose hits include “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “Any Way You Want It”, has yet to share the unfortunate update to their website or on social media.

The news comes just days after Jonathan Cain, the band’s longtime keyboardist, filed a lawsuit against guitarist Neal Schon.

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According to an unsealed court filing obtained by Bloomberg Law, Schon is accused of reckless spending while on tour that is allegedly compromising the group’s financial health, including spending more than the agreed upon $1,500 per night cap on hotel fees, maxing out an American Express card with a $1 million limit, using private jets and hiring his friend as an extra security guard.

At stake is the ability to pay off Journey’s debt, Cain contends.

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The lawsuit, filed in Delaware, says the dispute “is a very much public battle between petitioner and respondent and is impacting the band’s reputation throughout the music industry. The band’s actual onstage performance is, at the moment, one of the only aspects of the business that has not suffered.”

Journey was founded in 1973, while Cain joined the hit group seven years later. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

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