Several Ian McNabb shows were cancelled after the 1980s Icicle Works singer posted comments defending Russell Brand, a move that quickly turned into a live booking problem for his tour. Refunds were offered for the scrapped dates, including appearances at The Cluny 2 in Newcastle, Cottiers in Glasgow and The Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh.
The timing matters because the cancellations came right after McNabb used Facebook and X to say Brand had been “stitched up” for his “outspoken views,” then followed that with comments that went well beyond defence. He wrote that Brand had “got close to the target,” that people around him knew what was happening, and that women turning up to such situations “know exactly what’s going on.” Brand was jailed for 10 years and six months on November 9 for rape and sexual assaults, and McNabb’s posts were later removed.
What made the reaction immediate was not just the language, but the fact that the comments were public, repeated and easy to share before they disappeared. McNabb also said, “If that happened to me I know what I’d do,” and added that “the ones who decided they were done badly to – ten years after the event – are the worst.” Those lines helped turn a private opinion into a public dispute over whether he could still carry on touring without consequences.
Concert promoter Ewan McNaught said the cancellations were not a one-sided call. He said he “hate[s] cancelling gigs,” but could not defend McNabb’s comments and “simply can’t work with him moving forward.” McNaught also said there was a broad consensus between agent, promoter and venues that the shows could not go ahead under the circumstances, which means the collapse of the dates was treated as a shared decision rather than a single venue pulling out.
The missing piece now is how much of the tour remains intact. McNaught said he expected more shows to be cancelled, and the wording of the decision suggests the scrapped gigs were only the first wave. By the time the latest cancellations were updated on November 12, the practical question was no longer whether McNabb’s comments would draw backlash, but how many more dates would survive it.
