 LONDON (Top40 Charts) - Catatonia have reportedly dismissed rumours that they could be set to split as "pure speculation", after the band's autumn UK tour is cancelled. Singer Cerys Matthews's health problems led to the cancellation of the tour to publicise their new album, Paper Scissors Stone. Matthews is currently undergoing treatment for "anxiety and exhaustion". A statement issued earlier this month on behalf of the band said that Matthews had not "recovered sufficiently" for the tour to go ahead. But the News of the World claimed on Sunday that sources close to Catatonia say the other band members are on the verge of calling it a day. None of the band's representatives were available for comment. But a band spokesman quoted in the News of the World said the story was "pure speculation".
The Welsh band were due to mount an eight-venue tour next month. 'Well being' But the band's record label, Warners, said the dates - already been rescheduled from July - would not now take place at all. The official statement added that Cerys's "well being" was of paramount importance. Catatonia scrapped their headline spot at the Guildford Live festival earlier this month when Matthews was admitted to a rehabilitation clinic. The band had already pulled out of three festivals following the singer's health problems.
They cancelled a gig at BBC Radio 1's One Big Sunday in Plymouth, and also pulled out of the Witness Festival in Dublin. Matthews, 32, had a hectic schedule promoting the new album but her record company said last month she would "take a step back from ongoing promotion." Matthews has spoken recently of the "depression" which led to the singer losing her self-belief. The problem led to an extended silence for the band until their latest release. In an interview with Q magazine in June, Matthews spoke candidly of the strain of pop stardom and touring. The singer admitted to having suffered a breakdown last year after becoming "worn out" by the band being catapulted into the public eye. Catatonia's latest single, Stone By Stone, was released last month.
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