Rock Legend Jeff Lynne Cancels Final Show of ELO Farewell Tour

Jeff Lynne’s final show with the Electric Light Orchestra will not go on. The music legend was forced to cancel his last live show ever due to illness on July 12. Lynne’s team broke the bad news about the final show of the Over and Out Tour via a statement on Instagram stories hours before the band was set to close out the farewell tour at London's Hyde Park on July 13.

"Jeff Lynne is heartbroken to report that he will not be able to perform at tomorrow’s BST Hyde Park show," the statement read. "Jeff has been battling a systemic infection and is currently in the care of a team of doctors who have advised him that performing is simply not possible at this time nor will he be able to reschedule.”

"The legacy of the band and his longtime fans are foremost in Jeff’s mind today — and while he is so sorry that he cannot perform, he knows that he must focus on his health and rehabilitation at this time,” the statement continued.

ELO had previously canceled a July 10 show at Manchester's Co-Op Live due to Lynne's illness. The band played in Birmingham on July 5, the same day as Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s star-studdedBack to the Beginning farewell show took place in the same city, with a second show on July 6.

ELO was founded in Birmingham in 1970 by Lynne, multi-instrumentalist Roy Wood, and drummer Bev Bevan. Over the years, and amid multiple lineup changes, the orchestral pop-rock band released radio-friendly songs such as “Strange Magic,” “Telephone Line,” “Turn to Stone,” and “Don’t Bring Me Down.”

In 2024, Jeff Lynne’s ELO, the final incarnation of the band, announced their farewell tour, The Over and Out Tour. Lynne explained why Hyde Park was the perfect location for the final live show of his career.

"My return to touring began at Hyde Park in 2014. It seems like the perfect place to do our final show," he said in an official statement posted by Rolling Stone. "We couldn't be more excited to share this special night in London with our U.K. fans. As the song goes, 'We're gonna do it one more time!'"

Related: Black Sabbath Legend Reveals Why 2 Songs Were Cut From Farewell Show

Rock Legend Jeff Lynne Cancels Final Show of ELO Farewell Tour first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 13, 2025