[Source: NME.com] Kings Of Leon were forced to abandon their show in St. Louis, Missouri Friday 23 July after they were inundated by pigeon droppings.

An infestation of birds in the rafters of the Verizon Amphitheatre saw the band bombarded as soon as they took to the stage. According to Kings management the quartet tried to continue but such was the ferocity and direction of the bird excrement that after three songs the group felt they could only call it a night and retreat.

“Jared [Followill] was hit several times during the first two songs,” said management spokesman Andy Mendelsohn. “On the third song, when he was hit in the cheek and some of it landed near his mouth, they couldn’t deal any longer. It’s not only disgusting it’s a toxic health hazard. They really tried to hang in there.”

The pigeons had earlier provided fair warning of their intentions. Support bands The Postelles and The Stills left the stage complaining of getting riddled with large amounts of bird droppings.

“The Kings of Leon decided to carry on regardless,” said the Kings today in a statement released today. “The band felt it would be unfair to the fans to cancel the show at that late moment.”

“We couldn’t believe what The Postelles and The Stills looked like after their sets,” Followill said. “We didn’t want to cancel the show, so we went for it. We tried to play. It was ridiculous.”

Venue managers told the band’s representatives earlier on Friday about “a significant pigeon infestation problem with summer shows over the years, but they were doing all they could to fix it,” the statement said.