The Smile cancel shows after Jonny Greenwood admitted to intensive care
The Smile have cancelled their planned European dates in August after guitarist Jonny Greenwood was admitted to intensive care after becoming “seriously ill”.
The three-piece have spent a large part of 2024 on the road following the release of their celebrated second album, Wall of Eyes, which arrived in January. After a headline tour in the spring, the trio then played a series of outdoor shows across Europe in June before plotting to return to stages in August, which has now been shelved due to Greenwood’s unexpected health problems.
In a statement, the band, which also includes Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, told fans: “A few days ago, Jonny became seriously ill from an infection that needed emergency hospital treatment, some of it in intensive care. Mercifully he is now out of danger and will soon return home.”
“We have been instructed by the medical team in charge of Jonny’s care to cancel all engagements until he has had time to make a full recovery. To that end, The Smile tour of Europe in August is cancelled,” The Smile’s message continued.
Their statement concluded: “Refunds for headline shows will be available from your ticket provider. We all wish Jonny a speedy recovery.”
They were due to play headline shows in a whole host of European cities in August such as Winterthur, Munich Frankfurt, Riga, Warsaw, Vienna and Valencia. The Smile were also set to perform at festivals such as MEO Kalorama in Lisbon, Flow Festival in Helsinki, Way Out West in Gothenburg and Rock En Seine in Paris.
While ticket holders will be able to access a full refund for headline shows, this likely won’t be applicable to festivals, however, replacement acts should be announced ahead of each event.
At this stage, no further details have been announced regarding the specifics of Greenwood’s infection, but it’s positive that he will be returning home to complete his recovery in the near future. The Smile have no further dates in their calendar and it’s uncertain when the guitarist will next perform live.
In a four-and-a-half star review of Wall of Eyes, Far Out wrote: “Recorded between Oxford and Abbey Road Studios in London, Wall of Eyes introduces several lyrical concepts under an omnipresent tone of desolation. Much like the album artwork, created as usual by Yorke and Stanley Donwood, the music within is haunting, even in its colourful moments, driven by lyrical angst and insidious instrumental juxtaposition. Wall of Eyes is not a salient masterpiece of the Yorke-Greenwood canon but a more than worthy addition to the bulletproof saga. What happens next is anyone’s guess.”
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