A SHOWCASE concert in Hampshire to mark the farewell of worldwide singing sensation Luciano Pavarotti has been called off.

The larger than life Italian tenor was due to thrill fans at the Rose Bowl cricket ground in two weeks' time.

But the Daily Echo can exclusively reveal that he has been forced to pull out of the concert, plus his three other British dates, due to ill health.

A second concert featuring musical great Billy Joel will still go ahead on Friday, July 14, after Rose Bowl bosses dismissed claims it would be cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

For Pavarotti fans it was to be the last chance to see and hear the great man live as he plans to retire on his 70th birthday in October.

But it is hoped the dates will be rescheduled when Pavarotti, best known for operatic football anthem Nessun Dorma, is back to full fitness.

Rose Bowl PLC group managing director Glenn Delve said: "We were so honoured to have the opportunity to work with such a world class artist during his farewell concerts.

"We're disappointed for the thousands of fans who have bought tickets some of whom haven't been to the Rose Bowl before and we were looking forward to welcoming them.

"We're all devastated as so much, time, work and effort has gone in and especially for the audience, but we're still very excited about the Billy Joel show.'' The tenor's manager Terri Robson last night issued a statement to the Daily Echo saying Pavarotti had suffered a setback while recovering from surgery to correct a painful lower back condition. He will undergo intensive physiotherapy throughout July.

Concert bosses are offering a full refund and are looking into offering special deals on tickets for the Billy Joel concert to disappointed fans.

Daily Echo competition winners will also be offered Billy Joel tickets.

The announcement came as reports yesterday suggested that Hampshire chairman and benefactor Rod Bransgrove would be forced to fund potential heavy losses on the concerts with some suggesting less than a third of the 30,000 tickets had been sold.

When asked how many tickets had been sold Mr Delve would only say "thousands".

However, Mr Bransgrove told the Daily Echo any losses would be "nothing like" the figure of £1m quoted and he remained upbeat about ticket sales for Billy Joel's concert.

He added: "There's two weeks to go and we're still confident we'll sell a lot more tickets.

"It might not sell out, but we're prepared for that.

"The Rose Bowl remains very much a concert venue.'' Anyone with Pavarotti tickets is being advised to contact their ticket outlet or call the ticket hotline on 0870 118 2001. Tickets for the Billy Joel concert priced from £35 are also available on the same number.