Megadeth Pull Out of Australian Shows as Dave Mustaine Requests Apology From Promoter

Following last week's controversy in which organizers of Australia's Soundwave festival stated that Megadeth had requested that Newsted not support them on a pair of Sidewave gigs, Megadeth have now pulled out of all of their Australia shows.

In a post on Megadeth's official Facebook page, frontman Dave Mustaine made it clear that they were not nixing the gigs because Jason Newsted was playing. The reason for the cancellation became more apparent when Mustaine revealed on his Facebook page that it was the handling of the entire situation by the organizers of Soundwave that led to the decision. Mustaine particularly directed his frustration at Soundwave promoter AJ Maddah, saying that a simple apology would have led to Megadeth sticking with the gigs Down Under.

The Facebook post from Megadeth reads as follows:

Due to circumstances beyond its control, unfortunately Megadeth has to cancel their Australian dates. Megadeth's decision is unrelated to the fact that Jason Newsted is performing at Soundwave. Jason and I spoke recently and continue to be friends. - Dave Mustaine, Megadeth

Meanwhile, two hours later on Sunday, Mustaine posted the following:

All I asked for was an apology for blaming me for something I didn't do. I am still willing to play, but the promoter would rather not apologize and prefers to say I asked him to lie, which I didn't. Am I the only one that sees how easy it is to fix this? The AJ Maddah that I know is a wise and caring man, and I don't know what has happened to my old friend. My bags are packed Aussie fans. 

In response, promoter AJ Maddah tweeted an apology:

Then followed with this tweet:

Last week's statement from the Soundwave Festival read as follows, "At the request of Megadeth, Newsted will not be playing the below Sidewaves and instead will be replaced by Whitechapel." That led to speculation that Megadeth had kicked Newsted off the bill for those two gigs.

However, a Megadeth representative denied that was the case, stating to ABC News Radio, "Megadeth did not have anything to do with having Jason Newsted removed from the lineup on Megadeth’s upcoming Australian tour. Dave Mustaine is not responsible for booting Newsted off [the Soundwave festival]. Dave did not put him on the bill and did not take him off the bill.Dave submitted a list of bands he was comfortable with and the promoter ignored the list. Dave and Jason are friends [and] this has blown up into something silly."

Stay tuned for further developments on this story as they happen.