Ex-Beatle McCartney cancels Japan tour over illness

British music legend Paul McCartney (L) signs his autograph to fans upon his arrival at the Haneda airport in Tokyo on May 15, 2014. McCartney is to play Tokyo's Nippon Budokan Hall on May 21, marking his first return to the venue since appearing there with The Beatles in 1966. - AFP

TOKYO: Former Beatle Paul McCartney has cancelled his Japan tour because of a debilitating virus that has laid him up in a Tokyo hotel, organisers said Tuesday, disappointing thousands of the 71-year-old musical legend's fans.

He "will regrettably have to cancel the remaining Japanese shows. Paul is still not feeling better and this cancellation is unavoidable," organiser Kyodo Tokyo said in a statement.