The “Dilemma” hit artist was set to perform at a number of venues including ones in London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol this week. However a statement was released by Manchester’s 02 Ritz venue stating that the gigs will have to be rescheduled including the one at the Ritz venue where he was expected to perform on Thursday December 17th (via music-news.com)

The statement that was posted on their Facebook reads: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, Nelly has been forced to postpone his UK tour. Customers are advised to hold on to their tickets as rescheduled dates will be announced shortly & tickets will remain valid for the new shows. We apologise for any disappointment & inconvenience caused.”

Gossip website TMZ claims that the reason behind the decision is due to safety concerns according to an attorney for the singer that allegedly stated that there were “safety concerns relating to venue security preventing terrorist attacks”.

Whilst the cancellation may seem abrupt, there are a few reasons to which Nelly decided to cancel the tour for now. Due to recent terror attacks during an Eagles Of Death concert at the Bataclan in Paris, naturally fears over terror threats and attacks at venues in particular have heightened drastically.

Earlier this year felony charges were pressed against Nelly after he was arrested for substances found on his tour bus, recently it had been revealed that they were dropped. Ever since, Nelly stated he should be more careful about the associations he makes with people and needs to be more aware of his surroundings in general. He stated to TMZ:

“I feel the need to take responsibility for my choices in needing to be more aware of all the people I associate with and allow onto my property. While my instinct, of course, is to be accessible to my friends, fans and acquaintances, the last thing I would want to do is compromise the respect and admiration of my friends, family and fans.”