Reunited boy-band New Kids On The Block have pulled the plug on their Australian tour - blaming the global recession for the cancellation.

The Hangin' Tough hit-makers, who made a comeback after a 14-year hiatus, were set to hit Down Under after their successful U.S. tour finishes in August.

However, the band has found it hard to make the sums work in the current economic downturn, and have had to apologize fans for the scrapped gigs.

Band member Donnie Wahlberg writes on the band's website, "We are, in fact, in the middle of a worldwide recession and we just cannot make it work. In response to so many of the Aussie fans' amazing efforts and the collecting of signatures of thousands - our promoters, as well as our management team, worked incredibly hard to make an Australian tour a reality."

"When the recession's stranglehold on the world's economies eases up a bit - we will find a way to make this work. Like many of our fans down under- we too are saddened."

Image © Interscope

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)