The Sonic Youth co-founder Thurston Moore has cancelled his US book tour under medical advice, after revealing he is dealing with a “debilitating” and “longstanding” health condition.
The 65-year-old singer, guitarist and songwriter had been due to tour the US later this month to promote his candid new memoir, Sonic Life, charting his journey from teenage music fan in small-town Connecticut to the formation of his seminal experimental rock band in New York in 1981 with Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo, to his decades of creative endeavours.
In a post to his Instagram page, the London-based Moore said the undisclosed health condition has “always been an underlying issue” but “has never seriously stopped me from touring and recording”.
The musician said that “as I reach my mid-60s this year [the condition] has become rather, and consistently, debilitating”.
“It utterly bereaves me to pass on the news that I have been advised by my medical team here in the UK to cancel my upcoming USA book tour,” Moore wrote.
“After a recent consultation, my doctors have strongly advised against me flying anywhere under any circumstance until they get it all sorted out.
“This news is utterly distressing as the publication of my memoir, Sonic Life, after the last few years of intense writing and editing, means so much to me.”
In a previous Instagram post, Moore described Sonic Life as a memoir that has been “ages in the making, the product of intensive research and deep dives into my memories and emotions”.
“I believe I’ve been able to capture the whirlwind of experiences that being in Sonic Youth entailed, as well as the creative communities that we found ourselves a part of, first in New York’s punk and no wave scenes, and later in the world of underground and alternative rock and the universe of music- beyond- category.”
Sonic Youth broke up in 2011 after the breakdown of Moore’s marriage to bandmate Gordon.
Moore said he hoped to resume his US book tour “when I’m cleared for travel again”.
Moore’s book tour dates scheduled in England and Scotland in November are still scheduled to go ahead.
Sonic Life is out on 24 October through Doubleday.
• This article was updated on 12 October to confirm that Moore’s UK book tour is still scheduled to go ahead.
