the remaining 11 gigs in his European tour on Tuesday after he was diagnosed with a cyst of his vocal cords.

The 60-year-old singer said in a statement on his website: \"It really breaks my heart not to be able to perform these shows. I was really looking forward to capping off a great year and celebrating the start of the holidays with the fans.\"

\"But I have to do what the doctors tell me so I can look forward to healing and coming back strong in 2008. Let me dispel any rumours before they start -- I will be back.\"

It said he had been diagnosed with an inter-vocal cord cyst.

Eleven dates were left on his Three Bats Tour, with performances in Britain, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and Ireland that were on the cards up to the end of November.

The announcement comes just days after the \"Bat out of Hell\" singer cancelled a show in Birmingham, central England, because of poor health, and cut short a gig in Newcastle, northeast England, after just 70 minutes.

He will undergo voice therapy to establish whether surgery will be needed, and it will be four to six weeks before it is known what action Meat Loaf will be taking.