Fleetwood Mac cancel tour dates as John McVie has cancer

McVie is one of the co-founding members of Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac have cancelled shows in Australia and New Zealand after bassist John McVie was diagnosed with cancer.

A statement on the band's Facebook page on Sunday apologised to fans for cancelling the 14 dates in November and December as part of their world tour.

Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham said they hoped fans "will join us in wishing John and his family all the best."

The band have been on tour since April, and played in Amsterdam on Saturday.

The 14 concerts in New Zealand and Australia were scheduled to take place between 10 November and 7 December.

"John McVie, one of the co-founding and original members of Fleetwood Mac is now scheduled to be in treatment for cancer during that period of time," the band's statement continued.

The rock band are still scheduled to perform a concert in Las Vegas on 30 December.

A spokeswoman for the band, Liz Rosenberg, did not specify the type of cancer McVie was receiving treatment for.

The 67-year-old from Ealing, west London, was one of the founding members of Fleetwood Mac, along with drummer Mick Fleetwood, in 1967.

The group had one of the biggest-selling albums of the 1970s with Rumours, which included such songs as The Chain and Don't Stop.

Keyboardist and singer Christine McVie, was married to McVie from 1968 until 1977. She rejoined the band for two of their London concerts last month - marking her first appearance with Fleetwood Mac since leaving the group in 1998.