Pet Shop Boys Cancel Wotapalava

The Pet Shop Boys' 18-city Wotapalava tour, the first gay touring festival, has been cancelled for this year with hopes of relaunching in 2002, making it the only major cancellation this season.

The official reason is that they could not find a suitable replacement for Sinead O'Connor, who was announced and advertised but dropped off the tour as it was being publicized. She cited family commitments. However, ticket sales were reportedly soft and a rumor that Grace Jones would join the tour never materialized.

The tour, which was also to feature Soft Cell, The Magnetic Fields, Rufus Wainwright and numerous DJs on a secondary stage, was set to kick off July 13 in Miami.

"The last-minute withdrawal of Sinead O'Connor and the difficulty of finding a suitable replacement with such short notice have led the producers to believe that it would be unwise to proceed with the tour this summer," said Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant in a press release. "We have made this decision with the greatest of reluctance, but it seems impossible to proceed without a complete lineup of artists. We look forward to coming to America next year."