Fans waiting for soulful stud Maxwell to bring his sexually charged show to their town are gonna have to hold their breath -- or other body parts -- for a few more months. According to his publicist, the latter-day Marvin Gaye has cancelled his Live '98 tour, which was set to kick off on October 7 in Minneapolis.

Though rumors are flying as to the actual cause of the cancellation, a statement from Shore Fire Media asserts that Maxwell's tour was postponed "due to personal reasons," and has nothing to due with sales of his latest album Embrya (which has sold a healthy 589,000 copies since its release ten weeks ago), or of concert tickets, which were already on sale to the public in a few Midwestern cities. Ticket holders are urged to obtain refunds, since at this time, the tour has not been rescheduled. However, Maxwell's camp says the urban legend is shooting for a 1999 tour.

In an official statement, Maxwell sent his thanks to his fans and friends: "Love and appreciation to the ticket buyers and to those who were planning on attending. To everyone in the industry ... thank you for putting your heart and soul into this."

Stay tuned for details ...

HEIDI SHERMAN(September 23, 1998)