Gord Downie, Tragically Hip singer, has terminal cancer, band plans ‘one last tour’

Gord Downie, lead singer of iconic Canadian rock band the Tragically Hip, announced this morning he has a form of terminal brain cancer.

News of Downie’s illness was posted on the band’s website.

Hello friends.

We have some very tough news to share with you today, and we wish it wasn’t so.

A few months ago, 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.

This feels like the right thing to do now, for Gord, and for all of us.

What we in The Hip receive, each time we play together, is a connection; with each other; with music and it’s 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 – details and dates will be coming this week.

And we sincerely thank all of you, for your continued love and support,

Paul, GordD, Johnny, Rob, GordS

Since their formation in 1984 they have released 12 studio albums, two live albums, 1 EP, and 54 singles. Nine of their albums have reached No. 1 in Canada. They have received numerous Canadian Music awards, including 14 Juno Awards and has been inducted into both the Canada’s Walk of Fame and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.