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The damage done: Neil Young cans Swedish gig

Canadian rocker Neil Young pulled the plug on his show in Gothenburg on Thursday - and the rest of his European tour - after his lead guitarist broke his hand in a backstage accident.

The damage done: Neil Young cans Swedish gig

While the 67-year-old rock icon may be forever rocking in the free world, he wasn’t rocking in Gothenburg on Thursday night, cancelling his his appearance with Crazy Horse at the Way Out West festival.

The reason? Guitarist Frank “Poncho” Sampedro got a “mild-fracture” to his hand, according to the Rolling Stone magazine.

“Due to an accident involving Crazy Horse, the remaining dates on the Neil Young and Crazy Horse tour of Europe and the British isles have been cancelled,” Neil Young wrote on the band’s official page.

“We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes to our fans or the Festivals where we were scheduled to appear. As you must be, we too are disappointed at this unfortunate turn of events.”

But Swedish music fans had a hard time displaying a heart of gold over news that Young wouldn’t be taking the stage at Way Out West.

“I’m shocked, it’s such a shame,” fan Hans-Gunnar Andersson told the Aftonbladet newspaper after missing out on the show.

“I’ve been wanting to see him for several years and it felt like this was my last chance to see all the band together – and it ended up like this.”

It remains unclear exactly how “Poncho” broke his hand, but the damage is done and Crazy Horse has been unsaddled until further notice.

Swedish fans were not given refunds, but were told that their Thursday tickets would be valid for the rest of the weekend. The seven remaining Europe shows have also been scrapped, including shows in Norway, Denmark, Germany, Belgium and the UK.

The Local/og

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