NKOTB scraps Australian gigs

SYDNEY, June 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. pop act New Kids on the Block said on its Web site it is scrapping its planned Australian concert tour due to the economy.

"In response to so many of the Aussie fans' amazing efforts and the collecting of signatures of thousands -- our promoters, as well as our management team, worked incredibly hard to make an Australian tour a reality," NKOTB member Donnie Wahlberg said in an Internet posting this week.

"Despite warnings that the financial problems plaguing the world would compromise the Australian tour -- they never gave up on this dream and neither did we," Wahlberg added. "However -- I'm sorry to say that now -- it is true. We are not going to Australia. Like many of our fans Down Under -- we too are saddened. Australia has always, always, been one of our favorite places to travel to. And quite honestly -- we tried very hard to make it work. However, we are, in fact, in the middle of a worldwide recession and we just cannot make it work.

... We can only assure you that when the recession's stranglehold on the world's economies eases up a bit -- we will find a way to make this work. Thank you for understanding."

The Boston boy band broke up in 1994 and reunited last year to record a new album and tour.