Motown legend cancels Scottish show weeks after sexual assault allegations emerge
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MUSIC legend Smokey Robinson has dramatically cancelled his only Scottish show less than a month before he was due to appear.
The Motown crooner, 85, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his breakthrough album.
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US singer Smokey Robinson has axed his Scottish show
Credit: AFP
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He was due to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his breakthrough Motown album "A Quiet Storm"
Credit: Getty
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Smokey Robinson and wife Frances have both been named in the lawsuit
Credit: Getty
But in a shock to fans who had booked his gig at the SEC Armadillo on July 3 they received an email on Tuesday saying that the show had been axed.
It said: "We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Refunds are available from point of purchase.'
The singer's show at the Utilita Arena in Cardiff on July 9 Smokey has also been cancelled.
No reason has been given for the gigs being called off – while three other dates of his UK tour, in Lewes on July 4, Birmingham on July 8, and London on July 11, are listed as going ahead.
Robinson released "A Quiet Storm" in 1975 which became one of his first ever major successes in the music world.
As part of the celebrations, he will now perform three shows for fans in the UK this summer.
Robinson is under criminal investigation in Los Angeles over accusations of sexual assault.
Robinson is being accused of sexual battery, sexual assault, false imprisonment, gender violence, and creating a hostile work environment in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
His wife, Frances Robinson, is accused of knowing about the alleged assaults and doing nothing about them, according to court documents obtained by The U.S. Sun.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed last month that it had launched a formal inquiry into the allegations, saying the probe was in the "early stages".
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The investigation comes after a lawsuit was filed by four anonymous housekeepers against the singer-songwriter, accusing him sexual battery, false imprisonment, negligence and gender violence.
Robinson has denied the allegations. His lawyer has said those behind the accusations are after the musician's money, and he welcomed the police investigation "because exposure to the truth is a powerful thing".
"We feel confident that a determination will be made that Mr Robinson did nothing wrong, and that this is a desperate attempt to prejudice public opinion and make even more of a media circus than the Plaintiffs were previously able to create," the attorney, Christopher Frost, said in a statement to the BBC.
He argued the police investigation was only opened because the plaintiffs filed a formal report with their allegations and said the claims were "manufactured" and designed to "tarnish the good names" of the musician and his wife, who is also named in the lawsuit and accused of contributing to a hostile work environment.
The sheriff's department said in a statement that its Special Victims Bureau was "actively investigating criminal allegations involving William Robinson AKA 'Smokey Robinson.'
"The investigation is in the early stages, and we have no further comment."
The women filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on 6 May under the pseudonyms Jane Doe 1, 2, 3 and 4.
They are seeking at least $50m (£38m) in damages and a jury trial.
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He had been due to play the SEC Armadillo
Credit: Alamy
Robinson was Motown's first hitmaker, writing number one records like Mary Wells' My Guy and The Temptations' My Girl.
He was both a talent scout for the record label and one of its most prominent recording artists in his own right, known for songs like Tracks of My Tears, Shop Around and Tears of a Clown.
He has spots in both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and claims to have credits on more than 4,000 songs.
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