The veterans, who are all in their 50s, were forced to pull out of the concert in Bilbao in the Spanish Basque country after lead singer Mick Jagger reported a case of laryngitis.

Mick Jagger ... laid low with laryngitis

Jagger, 55, apologised to 40,000 Stones fans with tickets to the gig at Atletico Bilbao's football stadium and said he hoped to be fit by next weekend.

The promoter said the concert was not being rescheduled and has promised to refund all ticket money.

Earlier this week another concert in Milan was called off because of Jagger's laryngitis but his doctors say it should clear up in time for two nights in Luxembourg next weekend which have been sold out.

Tour dogged by controversy

The Bridges to Babylon world tour has been dogged by disaster and controversy.

Several dates in Germany, Croatia and Spain were called off last month when guitarist Keith Richards, 54, broke a rib when he fell off a chair reaching for a book at the library of his home.

Keith Richards ... broke a rib

The Stones also scrapped the entire British leg of the European tour after their accountants warned them they would have to cough up £10m in tax if they went ahead.

The Stones faced a tax bill after the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, closed a loophole which meant Britons living abroad could earn money in this country tax-free providing they did not spend more than 62 days in the UK.

Only two of the band's European dates have gone ahead so far - both in Nuremburg, Germany.

The latest cancellations come only two weeks after Billy Joel called off several joint concerts with Elton John for health reasons.

Some music critics will use these fiascos to argue that ageing pop stars should retire if they can no longer hack it.

But world tour promoter Michael Cohl promised shows in Zagreb, Berlin and Prague would definitely go ahead in August.

He said the Stones were postponing their UK dates until next year and said: "We hope the UK fans will look forward to a bigger tour in June 1999, which will include some indoor venues and club dates."

'Petty and mean'

Meanwhile, a Scottish pop star has attacked the Rolling Stones as "tight-fisted tax exiles" for cancelling their British tour.

Donnie Munro, who left Runrig last year to pursue a career in politics and has been selected as a Labour candidate for the Scottish parliament, supported the Stones on tour in Germany three years ago.

He said they were "the biggest money making music machine in the world" and criticised them for avoiding tax.

Mr Munro said: "There is nothing more disappointing than the artists, entertainers or business people who generate their wealth on the support of the people of their own country, only to flee into exile the moment their personal wealth is liable to the tax regime.

"There will be few ordinary people who will be moved by their plight. For men of such personal wealth, this will be seen as a rather petty and mean act."