Singer George Michael suffering from severe pneumonia, cancels UK tour

[News_Editor]

Singer George Michael suffering from severe pneumonia, cancels UK tour

2011-11-26 03:10:40 GMT+7 (ICT)

VIENNA (BNO NEWS) -- Singer George Michael is being treated for severe pneumonia at a hospital in Vienna and has been forced to cancel all of his upcoming concerts, his publicist said on late Friday afternoon.

Michael was hospitalized in the intensive care unit of Vienna General Hospital on Monday after he fell ill in his suite at a hotel in the Austrian capital. There are conflicting reports about the severity of Michael's condition, with the Vienna Times reporting earlier on Friday that his condition had worsened overnight.

"George Michael has severe community acquired pneumonia and is being treated as an inpatient," Prof. Dr. Christoph Zielinski, Chairman of the hospital's Department of Medicine, and Prof. Dr. Thomas Staudinger, Specialist in Internal Medicine and Intensive Care Medicine, said in a joint statement on Friday. "His condition has stabilized and he is responding to treatment."

Michael's publicist said any other speculation regarding his illness is 'unfounded and untrue.' "He is receiving excellent medical care; he is responding to treatment and slowly improving," his publicist said. "To ensure his complete well-being, George Michael's doctors have advised that he cannot perform the rest of his Symphonica tour and that he instead takes a full and complete rest."

Michael had planned fourteen concerts across the United Kingdom between this weekend and December 19. After he fell ill on Monday, the singer also canceled his concerts in Vienna and Strasbourg in France.

Zielinski and Staudinger said the time needed for Michael to recover 'cannot be estimated' at this time. "He will not be able to perform the rest of the tour," they said. "Besides medical treatment, complete rest and peace and quiet are mandatory."

The publicist said discussions and preparations are under way to reschedule the UK concerts and asked ticket holders to retain their tickets. "George was very much looking forward to bringing his tour back home and performing for his loyal and dedicated UK fan base," the publicist said.

The 48-year-old British musician is one of the world's best-selling music artists and rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo 'Wham!' with his friend Andrew Ridgeley. He was also forced to cancel a concert in London in late October due to a viral infection.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-11-26

[bartender100]

Goodbye George, thank you for the music

[bkkjames]

Goodbye? Article said he was responding to treatment.

Edited November 26, 2011 by Scott
formatting

[Scott]

I hope he makes a speedy recovery. I enjoy his music.

[Credo]

Best of luck to you for a quick recovery. Your music brings joy to a lot of people.

[x5david]

I still think its AIDS regardless what he or his publicists are saying....

[bkkjames]

Why you think that david, cause he is gay?

[x5david]

Why you think that david, cause he is gay?

Perhaps...but I have nothing against gay people, many of my friends are gay.

[Credo]

Although George Michael would be in a high risk group for contracting HIV/AIDS, I doubt he is suffering from HIV related illness. If he were HIV positive, he would be taking medication that would have/should have restored his immune system to a functional level. He is not poor and he would be able to get the best medical treatment available. I doubt he would tour with an impaired immune system.

Doing tours is physically (and I would assume emotionally) quite draining and it is not uncommon for musicians to get ill.

Again, hope he makes a speedy recovery.

[Hooters]

Although George Michael would be in a high risk group for contracting HIV/AIDS, I doubt he is suffering from HIV related illness. If he were HIV positive, he would be taking medication that would have/should have restored his immune system to a functional level. He is not poor and he would be able to get the best medical treatment available. I doubt he would tour with an impaired immune system.

Doing tours is physically (and I would assume emotionally) quite draining and it is not uncommon for musicians to get ill.

Again, hope he makes a speedy recovery.

Your assuming he takes his meds and leads a sober life if its indeed aids related. This may not be the case. Hope he recovers, he is a legend

[x5david]

Although George Michael would be in a high risk group for contracting HIV/AIDS, I doubt he is suffering from HIV related illness. If he were HIV positive, he would be taking medication that would have/should have restored his immune system to a functional level. He is not poor and he would be able to get the best medical treatment available. I doubt he would tour with an impaired immune system.

Doing tours is physically (and I would assume emotionally) quite draining and it is not uncommon for musicians to get ill.

Again, hope he makes a speedy recovery.

Good points, hope you are right. I love his music.

[pieandmash]

Although George Michael would be in a high risk group for contracting HIV/AIDS, I doubt he is suffering from HIV related illness. If he were HIV positive, he would be taking medication that would have/should have restored his immune system to a functional level. He is not poor and he would be able to get the best medical treatment available. I doubt he would tour with an impaired immune system.

Doing tours is physically (and I would assume emotionally) quite draining and it is not uncommon for musicians to get ill.

Again, hope he makes a speedy recovery.

To be taking medication he would first need to be diagnosed, and if he's still not taken a HIV test as he claimed a few years back he may well be undiagnosed up until now.