Tony Hadley was rushed to hospital on Sunday night, just moments before he was due on stage to perform.
The former Spandau Ballet star, 63, was forced to cancel his gig last minute as he began to feel unwell backstage and required medical attention.
Chart-topper Tony, best-known for his 80s hits with the band including True and Gold, was due to headline the Clearer Water Antrim Coast Half Marathon Live Lounge in Northern Ireland.
Turning up to the soundcheck at around 5pm, the star first reported feeling unwell, which was said to be evident to onlookers, before soldiering on through and then doing a VIP meet and greet with fans around 7:30pm.
It was then that he told organisers he was too ill to continue and an ambulance was called for him.
‘We got St John’s Ambulance,’ Michelle McTernan, who was in charge of PR for the event, explained to The Belfast Telegraph.
‘We had to do what was right by him and he was taken to hospital, and his crew have all gone with him, to stick together. We hope he gets better soon,’ she added.
The weekend’s organiser, Ruth McIlroy, also said the crowd was ‘very understanding’ after witnessing the singer’s soundcheck when he ‘clearly wasn’t feeling well’.
She also explained that medics on site were ‘very clear he needed to go to hospital’.
‘It is disappointing because we had a great day with the half marathon earlier, and Tony singing would have been the icing on the cake, but we have to take care of people, and we are more concerned that he’ll be OK.’
Tony, who last performed in Belfast back in 2015, was replaced at the show by local talent, singer Brendan Quinn and fiddle player Ciara Maguire.
Speaking last year, Tony confirmed that he has no intention to reunite with his former bandmates, brothers Gary and Martin Kemp, John Keeble and Steve Norman, following his departure in 2017.
Spandau Ballet had initially reunited eight years earlier, following their 1990 split.
‘Things happen in bands and it was never my intention to leave and it’s sad for the fans that they won’t see the band celebrate what is their 40th anniversary as well,’ he told Metro.co.uk.
‘But there were certain actions they took against me that just weren’t very pleasant. And it got to the point where I just couldn’t do it anymore. If these are supposed to be my friends, who needs enemies?’
‘People need to know it wasn’t my fault. You don’t leave a band like Spandau Ballet because they put sugar in your tea,’ he added.
Metro.co.uk has contacted a rep for Tony Hadley for comment.
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