“My hope was to be at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and to perform for the fans, but at this time I have to prioritise my health.”
Paul Rodgers toured with Roger Taylor and Brian May following Freddie Mercury’s death(Image: Getty)
Legendary Free and Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers, who toured with Queen star’s Brian May and Roger Taylor following the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991, has confessed he was given a 50/50 chance of survival after a major surgery.
The 75-year-old musician has suffered three significant strokes in recent years which he says have all been “hereditary”. His recovery journey was long as he “lost the ability to comprehend certain things” and had to relearn basic tasks such as using a knife and fork and required treatment to restore his language and singing functions.
However that paled in comparison to surgery on his carotid artery which he described as “a major surgery with only a 50/50 chance of survival”. He said: “I was completely on life support then, very strange to come back from because your circulation system has to relearn itself. But I’m doing very well now.”
Paul Rodgers worked with Brian May and Roger Taylor for five years(Image: Getty)
He told Forbes: “When they were wheeling me off to surgery, my wife said, ‘Now you better come back to me.’ She tells me that just after the operation I said that I had the option to leave this dimension, but thought, ‘I can’t do that, Cynthia will kill me. I can’t remember any of it, though.”
Paul’s health battles have continued and on November 8 he was forced to miss his own induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Taking to Instagram he penned: “My hope was to be at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and to perform for the fans, but at this time I have to prioritise my health.
“I have no problem singing, it’s the stress of everything else. Thank you for understanding.”
Chart topping Canadian rocker Bryan Adams stood in for him in his absence, performing with the band as they received the honour.
Paul was being inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the group Bad Company who he was with from 1973 until he left in 1982 to spend more time with his loved ones.
The 75-year-old later returned to the band, best known for their 1975 hit Feel Like Making Love from 1998 to 1999, 2001 to 2002, and 2008 to 2019.
He teamed up with Brian May and Roger Taylor in 2004 to work under the banner Queen + Paul Rodgers.
He remained working with the pair until 2009 during which time they toured extensively and recorded one studio album, The Cosmos Rocks.