• on air
• artists
• music news
• gigs & tickets
• breakfast
• o2 academy

• competitions
• festivals
• gig news
• gossip
• releases
• song of the decade
• uk news
• weather
• winter wonderland

James Brown Diagnosed With Cancer

added 10 December 2004 at 11.55

Xfm can report that the Godfather of Soul, funk legend James Brown has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and will be undergoing surgery later this month, yet ‘The Hardest Working Man In Showbusiness’ won’t stop working.

A statement released today (December 10) had confirmed that James Brown (71) has cancer of the prostate. It’s believed he was diagnosed two weeks ago, but kept the fact secret while he
completed his Canadian tour, the last date of which took place last night (December 9).

Brown is set to go into hospital for surgery on December 15, with approximately three weeks of recovery time expected. Doctors are pleased that they have caught the cancer early and the singer himself has also maintained a very positive outlook, saying, “I have overcome a lot of things in my life. I will overcome this as well.”

Confirming his reputation as ‘The Hardest Working Man In Showbusiness’ following his recovery, Brown will embark on book-signing appearances in New York next January for his new autobiography ‘I Feel Good: A Memoir of a Life of Soul’.

He will then launch the next leg of his ‘Seven Decades of Funk World Tour’ in Australia and Asia, with stops including Bangkok, Jakarta and Singapore, and February brings the scheduled release of a new single with the Black Eyed Peas.

Despite Brown’s recent brushes with the law (he was charged with criminal domestic violence earlier this year and in the 1970s and he also served a 2 ½ year prison stretch after his 1988 arrest for drug and assault charges) the Godfather of Soul, Soul Brother Number 1, The Hardest Working Man In Showbusiness, Mr Dynamite, is still regarded as one of the most important and influential figures in the history of music.

Penning a string of worldwide hits across his 40 year career including ‘Get Up Offa That Thing’, ‘Get Up (I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine)’, ‘It’s A Man’s World' and ‘Living in America’, Brown had continued to tour, recently played the UK at the Glastonbury Festival as well as a rare London date at the Hammersmith Apollo.

Brown was honoured at the Kennedy Centre in the US last year where presenter Colin Powell called him the “Secretary of Soul” and “Foreign Minister of Funk” and recently picked up the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2004 Diesel Music Awards.

Tagged as James Brown, archive

• send to a friend