THE POLICE - POLICE SHELVE TWO GIGS

Reformed 1980s legends The Police have cancelled two gigs in Manchester due to illness.

A statement on the band's website said lead singer Sting is suffering from a throat infection.

The gigs at the MEN arena tonight and tomorrow evening have been postponed, falling the same way as concerts in Germany and Belgium last week.

Tour promoters LiveNation said it hopes to have a rescheduling announcement "shortly".

The three-piece band announced their reunion tour in May, 21 years after their last major show together.

Sting, drummer Stewart Copeland and guitarist Andy Summers have already been forced to cancel gigs in Antwerp, Belgium, and Mannheim and Dusseldorf in Germany.

The European leg of the band's comeback tour is due to conclude with shows at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and Wembley Stadium.

The band's decision to get back together appears to be a part of a growing trend for reunion tours, with Take That, the Spice Girls, Genesis and Led Zeppelin among a number of other groups to have gone back on the road in recent times.