Eminem needs some R&R;

EMINEM’S sudden cancellation of the European portion of his “Anger Management” tour is the final whimper of a campaign that began in July with high anticipation but ended up being plagued by spotty attendance, traffic accidents and arrests.

In an announcement Tuesday, Interscope Records said the tour, which paired Eminem with his star protege 50 Cent, was being ended prematurely because Eminem is being treated for “exhaustion complicated by other medical issues.”

When the U.S. dates were announced, the music industry saw it as a possible landmark event that would elevate rap to a powerful new level in a concert business long dominated by rock and pop.

But instead of selling out arenas and amphitheaters, the 23-date tour drew inconsistently. In Pollstar magazine’s latest ranking of concert grosses, the tour is listed with an average 10-day gross of almost $854,000 on sales of 13,700 tickets per show, putting it No. 3 behind the Dave Matthews Band and Kenny Chesney in average box-office receipts.

“It’s certainly not the breakthrough,” Gary Bongiovanni, editor in chief of the concert trade publication, said Wednesday. “In terms of what people were expecting, I’m guessing they were looking at million-plus grosses.”

Bongiovanni cited the high ticket price -- an average of $62 -- as a key factor.

In a genre in which walk-up sales and word-of-mouth are important, the mixed reviews of Eminem’s performance may have also played a role.

The 10 dates in Europe that were to have begun Sept. 1 appeared to have been selling well. The scheduled finale, Sept. 17 at Slane Castle in Ireland, for instance, sold out its 80,000 tickets in two hours.

Eminem’s representatives declined further comment on the 33-year-old rapper’s condition or plans.

The “Anger Management” tour got off to a rough start when a bus accident during the first week seriously injured Eminem’s DJ. And last week, 50 Cent’s sidekicks Young Buck and Lloyd Banks were arrested on gun charges in New York. The tour was also dogged by speculation that Eminem was planning to retire from performing.

“I don’t think it had any effect, certainly not a positive effect,” said Bongiovanni. “I think fans are a little wary about putting too much stock into that. It’s like Destiny’s Child is retiring too. But, you know, call me in three years.”