Red Hot Chili Peppers cancel gig as singer Anthony Kiedis taken to hospital

Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis has been taken to hospital, forcing his band to cancel a gig at the last minute.

The group had been due to play at KROQ's WeenieRoast at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in Irvine, California, but the remaining members appeared on stage to break the news to the crowd.

A video shows bassist Flea telling the audience: "Anthony is on his way to the hospital right now and we're unable to play this evening.

"We are devastated about it. We're really sad. We love you so much. We live to rock, we live to dig deep into the depths of our hearts and rock. But unfortunately there's a medical thing that happened and he needed to deal with it."

Drummer Chad Smith tweeted: "No one's more disappointed than us that we couldn't perform tonight. Sending love and a speedy recovery to my brother Anthony."

The band are next due to play at the iHeartRadio Theatre in Burbank, California on Tuesday before a gig in Ohio on May 23.

They are scheduled to play at T in the Park in Perthshire, Scotland, on July 10, before performances at Tennent's Vital in Northern Ireland and Reading and Leeds festivals in August.

The band released a new single earlier this month and have a new album, The Getaway, due out on June 17.

In 2012 the band had to postpone a US tour after Kiedis had surgery to remove crushed sesamoid bone and correct a detached flexor tendon in his right foot.