The Charlatans drummer Jon Brookes has issued a statement thanking fans for their support.
After a two decade career, The Charlatans have developed an extremely loyal fanbase. So when drummer Jon Brookes collapsed onstage in the United States, support flooded in for the musician.
Flown back to the UK, Jon Brookes was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Taking time off to gain treatment, The Charlatans have vowed to continue and have drafted in a replacement drummer from The Verve.
The tour kicked off earlier this week, with The Charlatans paying tribute to their stricken drummer. Now Jon Brookes has issued a statement of his own, thanking fans for their support in this difficult time.
Speaking on the official Charlatans website, the drummer gave his “heartfelt thanks” to those who had supported him.
“I will never be able to express my heartfelt thanks for all the love and light I received,” Brookes wrote. “From all of you who text me, sent me cards, made calls to me or passed on their support and best wishes that ultimately brought me back home, safe!”
Earlier in the blog the drummer gave an emotional account of his illness. “When I first saw those strange lights in the corner of my eyes at the start of the set in Philadelphia little was I to know that the brain tumour several centimetres across was starting to emit it´s electrical impulses across the bottom halve of the right hand side of my brain… and after asking for sound levels to be lowered on stage I continued to play the set, but was already hopelessly out of time and disorientated and on a different song from the set list and rest of the band, the count down to disorder had begun.”
“Strange feelings of floating quickly replaced by violent head movements engulfed me. Then I was approached by strangely familiar faces asking me what was wrong but, I couldn’t speak, my mouth wired tight by lockjaw and panic spreading across my frozen body, the first seizure had begun and was in full affect.”
To give a message of support click HERE.
