Fans hoping to catch The White Stripes or Kaiser Chiefs stateside in the near future will be bitterly disappointed after both bands cancelled tour dates.

The Leeds band, who were due to kick off a seven-date tour in Dallas on Tuesday, say they want to focus on their third album.

Drummer Nick Hodgson said: “We’d like to apologise to fans in America and Canada, especially those who have already bought tickets, but something had to give.

“We’ve been extremely busy all year and had no time to focus on the future, we plan to have new material out as soon as possible and we’ve wanted to record all summer.”

Kaiser Chiefs possibly thought it was worth the risk, having sold just 82,000 copies of Your Truly, Angry Mob in the US since its release in February.

The White Stripes have also cancelled dates scheduled next month, claiming Meg White is suffering from “acute anxiety” and is unable to travel.

A statement said: “We hate to let people down and are very sorry.”

Less ground shattering, but worth a mention anyway, is news that Sophie Ellis-Bextor has postponed her forthcoming tour to go on the road with Take That.

Appearing as the boy band’s special guest on their European tour, the singer said it was near impossible to do both.