Knuckle-faced warbler, Richard Ashcroft has a very high opinion of himself. It’s clear that he sees himself as some kind of indie messiah (feel free to shout “No he’s not! He’s a very naughty boy!”) and when things don’t quite go his way, he is a champion sulker.

With that in mind, Ashcroft abandoned his show at the oddly named Splendour In The Grass festival in Australia after just one song.

Ashcroft, who is on tour with his new band, United Colours of Benetton United Nations Of Sound, walked offstage during opening track ‘Are You Ready?’.

Now, the official line is that his voice was shot and that he couldn’t make it through the gig.

A statement from Ashcroft’s management posted on his official site said:

“After three gigs in two days, including a two-hour show in Sydney on Saturday night, we knew Richard would have to look after his voice for the Splendour In The Grass set so we cancelled all promotional activity for Sunday.”

“It wasn’t until he got on stage on Sunday night at Splendour that he realised his voice wouldn’t make it through the set.”

Ashcroft has now reportedly been “ordered not to speak or sing for 72 hours” by a doctor. God bless that doctor who has spared our ears.

However, fans on various forums are suggesting his exit was down to something wholly different. The former Verve frontman was underwhelmed with a reportedly low turnout for his set, and some have reported that those that turned up began to chant “wanker” over and over at him.

But yeah. It was his voice that was the trouble. Definitely the voice.

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