Los Angeles, Jan 23 (IANS): Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Neil Diamond has announced his retirement from touring due to his diagnosis of Parkinsons disease.

The third leg of Diamond's 50th Anniversary tour, scheduled for Australia and New Zealand in March, has been cancelled based on a doctors' advice, reports variety.com.

Diamond will, however, plans to remain active in "writing, recording and other projects for a long time to come", he said in a statement.

He will turn 77 on Wednesday. Four days later, he will be honoured at the Grammy Awards when the Recording Academy presents him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

"It is with great reluctance and disappointment that I announce my retirement from concert touring," he said.

"I have been so honoured to bring my shows to the public for the past 50 years. My sincerest apologies to everyone who purchased tickets and were planning to come to the upcoming shows."

The singer has numbers like "Sweet Caroline", "Shiro" and "Songs of life" to his credit.