SILVERCHAIR Cancel Hobart Concert & Postpone Sydney Date Due To Ill Health Of DANIEL JOHNS

SILVERCHAIR will be unable to fulfill two live performance engagements over the coming days due to a recurrence of Daniel Johns' reactive arthritis which first caused problems for the band in March.

Saturday's show in Hobart has been cancelled entirely and full refunds will be available to all ticket holders from the point of purchase. The band will also make a donation to the Pastoor Meningococcal Trust which was to receive any profits from this concert. SILVERCHAIR will attempt to include a new Tasmanian date on their national tour later this year.

Monday's secret show in Sydney as part of Triple M's Designer Concert series has been postponed until Monday July 15 at the same time and venue. Ticketholders for that event can obtain full refunds from point of purchase or simply hold on to their tickets and use them for the rescheduled date.

"I'm very disappointed that I can't do these shows and I am really, really sorry for the inconvenience it will cause people", said SILVERCHAIR's singer/guitarist/songwriter, Daniel Johns. "Nobody wants to be playing these shows more than Ben, Chris and I but I haven't been able to even pick up my guitar today so it's just physically impossible for me to perform these gigs."

"SILVERCHAIR have always felt a very strong obligation to meet the commitments they make to people so this situation is frustrating and upsetting for all concerned", said their manager, John Watson, "Daniel's inability to perform these dates could diminish the band's previously impeccable reputation for never canceling shows. It will also cost them a great deal of money so it's not a decision that has been made lightly. However, given how much pain Daniel has been suffering in the last few days and the problem with his hand there was simply no choice."

As previously announced, Daniel Johns is suffering from reactive arthritis. Unlike the more widely known types of arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, reactive arthritis is usually not a degenerative condition. This means that nearly everybody who suffers from it makes a full recovery. It occurs in about six percent of the male population usually only once in a lifetime and, as the name implies, it is caused by a severe reaction to an underlying virus. The disease causes swelling of the joints and very considerable pain.

"Usually reactive arthritis only lasts for about three months but in Daniel's case he has now been battling it on and off for nearly six months. As with any type of condition involving a virus - such as the flu - some days are much better for him than others but he is going through a particularly bad patch", said John Watson.