Update

Flu Forces Elton John to Cancel Concerts

By Stephen M. Silverman

Update Monday November 02, 2009 06:30 AM EST Originally posted Sunday November 01, 2009 10:00 AM EST

Elton John

Andrew Theodorakis/AP

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The flu may be on everyone's minds, but it happens to be in Elton John's system – prompting the British musician, who is said to be in a London hospital for treatment of e-coli bacterial infection and influenza, to postpone the Seattle and Portland, Ore., dates on his current tour, costarring Billy Joel, the BBC reports.

Monday morning, John's spokesman Gary Farrow told Reuters that, despite the hospitalization, Sir Elton, 62, was "absolutely fine" and hoped to return to entertaining soon.

According to his official Web site, Sir Elton postponed a Dublin performance on Thursday after earlier shelving concerts in London, Liverpool, Sheffield, Newcastle.

The American leg of the tour was also put on hold in July, when Joel, 60, was ordered to rest after suffering "flu-like symptoms" and "extreme fatigue."

The Pacific Northwest gigs are likely to be rescheduled for December, according to promoters.

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