Legendary rock band tease final UK tour dates during farewell festival show at Download
ROCKERS Sum 41 teased a farewell UK tour during their appearance at Download Festival at the weekend.
The Canadian outfit, fronted by Deryck Whibley, tore it up at Donington Park, Leics, for their final ever UK festival appearance.
But fans may well get another chance to see them before they head off into the sunset after 28 years together.
When a supporter, who wasn’t at Download, asked if there was any mention of a UK tour on Instagram, a gig-goer replied: “They said there would be an announcement soon.”
The band’s 12-song greatest hits set featured the likes of Motivation, Fat Lip, In Too Deep, a cover of We Will Rock You, and new track Landmines from their epic double album Heaven :x: Hell.
The huge LP perfectly encapsulates everything that Sum 41 are – from insanely catchy pop punk, to edgier fast-paced metal riffs.
The band formed in 1996 and were signed by Island Records in 1999, releasing their debut EP Half Hour of Power the following year.
However, it wasn’t until 2001 that they cracked the mainstream with All Killer, No Filler which featured in teen comedy classic American Pie.
It was followed by Does This Look Infected?, Chuck, Under Class Hero and Screaming Bloody Murder.
Whibley then retreated from the limelight as he fought life-threatening alcohol addiction which left the band’s future looking bleak.
He was lucky to survive kidney and liver failure in 2014 and spent a month in intensive care.
Staying alive was just part of the battle, he had to relearn how to walk and then become a sober musician.
He told People: “I had so much nerve damage in my feet, and that was one of the hardest things.
“While I was in the hospital for four weeks, I was just in a bed and I couldn’t move, and I had retained so much bile and poison from all the drinking that my feet had swollen up. I had edema, and it just caused all this nerve damage.
“My feet were in so much pain that it felt like I was walking on broken glass or hot coals all the time. So I couldn’t stand on my feet for more than 30 seconds without having to get off. It felt like I was standing hot coals.”
He bounced back with the album 13 Voices in 2016 and the band have released a further two albums since.
The current line-up features Whibley, Jason McCaslin, Tom Thacker, Frank Zummo, and Dave Baksh.
Last year Sum 41 announced they would be bringing the group to an end after nearly three decades.
A statement read: “Being in Sum 41 since 1996 brought us some of the best moments in our lives.
“We are forever grateful to our fans both old and new, who have supported us in any way.
“It is hard to articulate the love and respect we have for all of you and we wanted you to hear this from us first.”
It continued: “Sum 41 will be disbanding. We will still be finishing all of our current upcoming tour dates this year, and we’re looking forward to releasing our final album ‘Heaven :x: Hell…
“For now, we look forward to seeing all of you skumf**s on the road and are excited for what the future will bring for each of us,
“Thank you for the last 27 years of Sum 41.”