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Tragedy! Robin is not coming
By Ranjit Vethakan
Robin Gibb of the world renowned pop group Bee Gees has cancelled his Colombo concert due to security concerns following the assassination of former foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgarmar.

Gibb, who is in the middle of his Magnetic Tour across Asia, was scheduled to arrive in Colombo on September 5, following his concert in Tokyo.The Colombo concert was planned to be held at the CR and FC grounds in Longden Place on Wednesday, September 7.

This venue also hosted the Bryan Adams concert in February 2004. However, according to well placed sources in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles and Florida, where the two remaining Gibb brothers are based, Robin Gibb "shuddered" at the thought of travelling to Colombo when told about the murder in the Sri Lankan capital.

Pleading anonymity, both sources said no entertainer worth his name would have been comfortable to perform at their best "in a climate like that".The incident is also likely to hurt the prospects of several other international stars who are currently negotiating similar visits to Colombo in the coming months.
One such star who had been negotiating a concert in Colombo was 60s teen idol Johnny Tillotson, with huge hits like Poetry In Motion, Judy, Judy, Judy I Love You, Talk Back Trembling Lips and many, many more.

However, Tillotson is prepared to look at it "some time in 2006 when the dust has settled down". "I don't think this is the ideal time to go there", he told this correspondent over the phone.

Robin Gibb, who started his Asian tour last Sunday night with a two-night stand at the magnificent Genting Highlands in Kuala Lumpur, has already played in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok, and was in Taipei last night. He will play in Seoul on Tuesday before heading off to Japan for his last concert.

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