The Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie has terminal brain cancer

The Hip's Gord Downie
The Hip's Gord Downie (Image credit: Getty)

The Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie has terminal brain cancer, it’s been announced.

The Canadian outfit issued a statement on their website confirming the news, and say they’ll embark on a summer tour as they feel it’s “the right thing to do now, for Gord, and for all of us.”

The statement continues: “We have some very tough news to share with you today, and we wish it wasn’t so. In December, Gord Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

“Since then, obviously, he’s endured a lot of difficult times and he has been fighting hard. In privacy along with his family, and through all of this, we’ve been standing by him.”

“So after 30-some years together as The Tragically Hip, thousands of shows, and hundreds of tours, we’ve decided to do another one.”

They add: “What we in The Hip receive each time we play together is a connection with each other, with music and its magic. And during the shows, a special connection with all of you, our incredible fans.

“So, we’re going to dig deep, and try to make this our best tour yet. We hope you can come out and join us this summer.”

A touring schedule is currently being organised, with full details to be issued in due course.

The band’s 13th studio album entitled Man Machine Poem will be released on June 17 via Universal.

Along with his musical career, Downie has had a variety of acting roles, including an appearance with Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson in the Trailer Park Boys film The Big Dirty.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.