Jeff Lynne's ELO gig called off at last minute

A gig by Jeff Lynne's ELO in Manchester was called off just before it was due to start.

Fans said they were told the performance at the Co Op Live arena would not be going ahead not long before its support act was due to take to the stage.

In a statement posted on X, Jeff Lynne's ELO page said the show had been cancelled "due to illness".

"Unfortunately due to illness, tonight's scheduled performance of Jeff Lynne's ELO at the Co-op Live will not be going ahead. Jeff is devastated he cannot perform this evening," the statement said.

A couple who travelled from Liverpool to attend said the situation was "a load of rubbish".

"They could have told us earlier and they haven't. It's very poor.

"And you know what's even more poor, [George Harrison's son] Dhani Harrison was the support act. They could have let him play. I would have been happy to see Dhani Harrison but we got nothing."

Other fans said they were concerned for 77-year-old Birmingham music legend Lynne, who had been performing without his guitar since Saturday after injuring his hand in a taxi crash.

Some had commented that he did not look well during the first of the two planned gigs on Wednesday.

"I just hope he's ok," one fan who travelled from Aberdeen said.

"In the 1970s my first cassette album was ELO and I was looking forward to seeing Jeff Lynne, but the guy's ill so what can you say I just hope he's ok."

ELO had major hits in the 1970s with songs including Living Thing and Mr Blue Sky.

Lynne has also had success as a producer, working on the Beatles' comeback singles Free As A Bird and Real Love in the 1990s.