Rockers Tokio Hotel have been forced to scrap their upcoming European tour at the last minute - because lead singer BILL KAULITZ is undergoing surgery on his vocal chords. The stars were due to play a series of shows in Italy, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and their native Germany as part of their 1000 Hotels tour this spring (08), but had to cancel the sold-out dates after 18-year-old Kaulitz was diagnosed with a cyst. He is expected to have the operation later this week (begs24Mar08), but will require several weeks' rest to recover from the vocal trauma. The band's producer and manager David Jost says, "Bill had been treated by a physician early last week for an inflammation of his vocal cords. "A further examination revealed swelling on one of the vocal cords that was hindering recovery. The cyst has to be surgically removed this week. We very much hope fans understand that Bill's health has to be foremost." A spokesman for Tokio Hotel's booking agency Four Artists warns fans not to expect the dates to be rescheduled just yet. Stefan Henkel says, "It is still too early to say whether make-up dates will be scheduled. If so, it will be this summer." Disgruntled fans have been offered full refunds for the cancelled gigs.