Glass Animals' cancel tour after drummer Joe Seaward is hit by truck
Oxford indie rockers Glass Animals have canceled an upcoming tour after their drummer was injured in a crash while cycling.
Drummer Joe Seaward suffered a broken leg and fractured skull in the collision in Dublin involving a truck. The accident happened last Monday (July 2) in Dublin, according to a post by frontman Dave Bayley on Glass Animals’ Facebook page. “His leg was broken on impact and he became tangled in the truck’s trailer where his skull suffered a complex fracture,” Bayley wrote, saying Seaward required two operations, one to repair a broken femur and another for the skull fracture. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Unfortunately, Seaward won't be recovering in time for the North America and Europe leg of their tour, leading Glass Animals to cancel the remainder of their tour dates for 2018. In the statement released via their Facebook page by frontman Dave Bayley, the band apologized to its fans: "We are very sorry to say that, because of all of this, we will be cancelling our remaining shows this year. Joe’s injuries are highly unlikely to heal in time to make any of them."
"I wish more than anything that this accident hadn’t happened and that Joe was ok and that we would still be coming to hang with you all, but life has thrown something horribly sad and unexpected at us, and we need to do everything in our power to conquer it and get Joe back on his feet," Bayley added.
Bayley gave fans an update on Seaward's condition, saying, “He can still wiggle his fingers and twinkle his toes, and he still laughs at all my shit jokes, and demands we wake him up so he can watch the World Cup while we feed him ice cream and grapes. It wasn’t safe for him to go directly into his leg surgery after his brain op, but a couple days ago he was given the go-ahead by the consultants. He now has a titanium pin holding two halves of his femur together," he said, before adding jokingly, "Basically, he is now Wolverine.”
Glass Animals had concerts scheduled throughout July and August, with their next show being the Mad Cool Festival in Madrid, Spain. The itinirery also included a show at New York's Madison Square Garden. Thanks to their unique art-pop style with heavy tropical influences, Glass Animals have become one of the UK’s most popular new bands. The band has released two critically-acclaimed albums, 'Zaba' in 2014, and the highly acclaimed Mercury-shortlisted 'How to Be a Human Being' in 2016.
