THE FAREWELL tour by controversial rock ‘n’ roller PJ Proby has been cancelled.

The singer who famously split his trousers on stage will no longer play the concerts following public reaction to a recent interview in the national press.

Venues in some towns refused to allow the Texan star to perform due to comments he made about his love life in the interview.

The tour was due to call at King’s Hall in Ilkley on Thursday, May 30.

A statement on Proby’s official website claimed he had been a victim of character assassination.

The statement read: “This is what a false, twisted interview can cause when the power of the media is abused. There has been an outpouring of love and support by PJ’s many fans and friends, including a statement from his first wife Marianne.”

Proby lived in Haworth during the 1980s, a couple of decades after he hit the heights of fame across the globe. He’s been performing ever since, but finally decided to hang up his guitar at the age of 80.

Born James Marcus Smith in Houston, Texas, Proby became a star in his native America in 1963 being invited to the UK by the Beatles.

He built a massive army of followers across Europe with hits such as Somewhere, Maria, Together and Hold Me.

The Sixties teen idol worked with many music-industry icons including Elvis Presley. While his voice brought him a string of hits, it was his ponytail and extrovert behaviour that helped make him a hit with young female fans and the popular press.

He is probably best remembered for splitting his trousers during a performance, an incident that grabbed so many headlines he then made an act of regularly splitting his crushed velvet jumpsuit.

During his early years in Houston, he worked with stars such as Elvis, George Jones and Tennessee Ernie Williams, and one of the highlights of his career was playing Elvis in the West End.

In his early career Proby would lay down the initial vocals on Elvis Presley’s future releases to enable the star to fulfil his movie contracts, then Elvis would record his own vocals down for the finished product.

In 1996 Proby made a recording comeback when he collaborated with Marc Almond on a cover version of Yesterday Has Gone.