Green Day cancel gig after Billie Joe taken to hospital

Green Day have cancelled a gig in Italy after front man Billie Joe Armstrong was taken to hospital.

The singer's band-mates, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tre Cool, recorded a video apologising for pulling out of the show.

In the video the pair said that the band were extremely upset at having to cancel.

A statement read: "We regretfully must cancel our performance in Bologna, Italy. We are beyond devastated."

Band upset

In the video posted on the band's official website, Mike Dirnt added: "We apologise, this is really unfortunate. Billie got rushed to the hospital last night due to illness. The doctors don't think it's a good idea for him to play.

"This sucks, we were really looking forward to playing Bologna as the highlight of our tour. We'll be back as soon as we can."

There were no further details about the illness that led to Armstrong's hospital admission.

The band recently performed a surprise gig at Reading festival where they performed material from their new album ¡Uno!

This will be the first of three new albums set for release this year.

The band have confirmed a full UK tour for 2013, starting at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium on 1 June.

Billie Joe Armstrong is also due to be a mentor for series three of the US version of The Voice.