Popular American rock band Kiss has been forced to cancel its Australian tour including an appearance at next weekend’s Coates Hire Newcastle 500 Supercars finale. 

Earlier this week it was announced that US doctors had advised frontman Paul Stanley to rest due to a bad case of influenza, prompting the rescheduling of the tour’s first show in Perth to the end of the run and the cancellation of its New Zealand gig. 

A secondary throat infection has rendered Stanley unable to travel to Australia. 

Kiss was expected to be the headline act at Supercars’ post-race concert at the Number 1 Sportsground on Saturday, November 23.

Tour promoters One World Entertainment and TEG Live said: “We are devastated with the cancellation of the Australian tour.

“We’ve been in constant contact with the band in the past few days hoping for a positive outcome. We know how much fans were looking forward to the tour.  We send our best wishes to Paul for a speedy recovery.”  

“Words cannot begin to convey our massive disappointment in having to cancel our End Of The Road tour of your incredible country,” Stanley said. “Our connection to you is unparalleled and decades deep.

Stanley added: “We waited as long as we could and held out hope to the last minute that my situation would clear up and we would be able to march forward.

“Doctor’s orders ultimately have taken precedence and finally we now find ourselves with no choice but to surrender. With heavy hearts, KISS.”

Tickets purchased by credit or debit card will be refunded in full (including ticket insurance premium, if relevant) and patrons do not need to take any action. Refunds are expected to appear in their account within 10 working days.

Patrons who purchased tickets in an Agency using cash or EFTPOS will be contacted in the next 15 days to arrange a full refund.

The Newcastle concert had been heavily promoted through Supercars with Penrite Racing even adopting a special Kiss livery for its cars at the Vodafone Gold Coast 600 last month and next week’s Newcastle event.

Penrite Racing has confirmed it will continue to run the liveries on its cars for David Reynolds and Anton De Pasquale, albeit with the tour dates removed.