Marc Almond fighting for life after motorcycle accident

Gosh, that reads back as rather heartless. I'm really hoping it's not as serious as the press is making out...

This is awful.

?!?!?!!?!?

:-(

not good news...

The only redeeming thing about the times article is that no other news sites have picked up on it yet...

Yeah, I don't see the story around much. Although it was in this morning's print edition of The Daily Mail.

Very sad indeed. Best wishes for Marc...

Still no word from the official news service, and they're usually very quick about things. So I'm...concerned.

Poor Vicki Wickham -- his manager. First Dusty and now this! Let's wish him well!

This is very bad news indeed. One does not usually make a full recovery from 'head injuries' which are 'critical'.

I just put on Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret as a sign of support.

This is just horrible. The ananova report said that the poor guy had just had to cancel a tour due to a hernia as well.
I once read an interview in the Wire in which he talked about overcoming head injuries from a neon sign falling on him during the 90s, so I just pray history can somehow repeat itself and let him make a full recovery.

He is accidentprone - didn't he get thrown out of his window while nodded out in the '90s, too?

:-( Terrible news. Hope he pulls through.

Taken from the Marc Almond newsgroup:

Marc Almond was involved in collision between a car and a motorcycle yesterday and is currently in hospital in London. He was the passenger on the motorcycle and suffered serious injuries. Last night he underwent emergency surgery and today is in intensive care where his condition remains critical. We will bring you updates on his condition as soon as possible. We're all very shocked at this news and our thoughts, as I know yours will be, are with Marc and his family right now.

If you wish to send a message for Marc please use the following address: [email protected]

The BBC news is now saying that his condition is stable which is something. I so fearful for him. I think what Momus writes is correct.

This was the front page story in London editions of Metro this morning.

Highlights again just how dangerous the streets of London are for motorcyclists and cyclists (although i'm afraid some of them don't help themselves either, ignoring red lights and other basic rules of the road - i'm not saying this applies to the person whom Almond was sitting behind, mind). Hope Marc recovers.

zebedee you fucking prat! now is not the time for your thoughts on road safety

This is really sad.

when is the right time, jase? it's high profile incidents that help spark debate and hopefully encourage changes in behaviour

the phrase "wait until the dust has settled", ever heard of it zebedee???

maybe you'd like to hyperlink us to ebay where we can buy almond's cracked helmet and lay down bids on his internal organs!

Expect to see "Non Stop Erotic Cabaret" climbing considerably in all those "All Time Best Albums" rankings shortly.

And, btw, terribly sad news. Hopefully he'll recover.

oh for heaven's sake
(xp)

"maybe you'd like to hyperlink us to ebay where we can buy almond's cracked helmet and lay down bids on his internal organs!"

This is far more insensitive than anything zebedee said. But me thinks you are an irrational fanboy.

yeah, at least Zeb's not pretending Marc Almond is a pal or owt...

Marc is "stable" - hopefully this is a good sign

To all you unsensitive souls or non Marc fans , think about his loved ones or other families of head injury victims before you comment.Marc is a brilliant live performer with a real passion for life so lets root for him rather then lecture about the dangers of motorbikes!

I am truly depressed about this. Marc is an icon of mine if ever I had one. His 1999 solo show I caught is one of the three best shows I've ever seen, he was very professional and gracious when I interviewed him, his books are grand, and of course the music. *sigh*

Is this the quickest a thread's been picked up by a r4nd0m g00gl3r without being started by one?

Probably.

another bad bad news in a day full of them...

STAND BACK GUTTERHEARTS! He is a very charming man and I hope he recovers completely. Also he *was* wearing a helmet!

I really hope the best for him.

Ack! That's terrible news. I hope Marc makes a complete recovery.

So, will this make the TV news? (i.e. more information rather than hey how celeb is Marc...)

it was front page on this morning's Metro

It was on Look North, presumably because he is famed-Leeds-er, one of his university lecturers said something brief about him.

This is terrible news, I hope Marc is able to make a full recovery.

Oh god, the poor thing. I hope he recovers well.

Very sad.

Eep! How depressing...

i went 2 uni in yorkshire and at the indie night (the black hole) every single week (93-94) of my first year they played SAY HELLO WAVE GOODBYE as the last track at 2 a.m.
every night. one of the best lyrics in any pop song ever, and an amazing tune too. fantastic. it was the first thing i thought when i heard the news. a top 3 hit it was too.

didn't his last album had ace reviews?
his best since THE STARS WE ARE 13 years ago at least i think.

very best of luck to him.

Soft Cell -- classic or dud?

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Say-Hello-Wave-Goodbye-lyrics-Soft-Cell/D5D6FF3D3BD48E3748256DB7001154C4

'The Stars We Are' is one of my favourite albums of all time. When it came out it was the first solo Marc Almond stuff I had heard, and I was hooked. Hell, I even liked 'Enchanted'! I've picked up tons of his stuff since, although TSWA is still the first thing that comes to mind. Admittedly, though, I have a high degree of personal sentimentality attached to it. I think 'These My Dreams Are Yours' is one of the most incredible love songs ever written.

I'm a little surprised that I've never talked about Marc Almond on ILM, and I'm sad that it has taken a tragedy for me to re-visit his music. I really hope he makes a full recovery and more people can continue to enjoy his music as I have.

An update from his press office:

After his motorcycle collision on Sunday, Marc is still in a serious
condition in intensive care, although the hospital have stated that his
condition has stabilised. We realise that you are all desperate for news,
but we must respect the wishes of his family and can only announce news
when they release it. Marc's recovery is going to be a slow process so
there are not going to be updates on his condition every day, but we will
endeavour to let you know as soon as there is something to report.

Many of you have asked for details about sending cards, gifts and flowers
for Marc. Firstly, Marc can not have flowers so please refrain from sending
them to the hospital. If you wish to send cards or gifts please use the PO
box address below and we will make sure he receives them when well enough.
Please do not telephone the hospital for information as they have been
inundated with calls and they will not tell you
anything further. Adding to the workload of an already overburdened system
will not help anyone.

Finally, we have received literally thousands of emails full of good wishes
and support for Marc. We have printed them all out and today they have been
passed on to Marc's family.

Oops, forgot the PO Box:

PO Box 4RX
London, W1A 4RX
UK

Aw. That's optimistic - they're never going to ask for coping strategies for gifts/trinkets if they don't think they will be appreciated by him soon.

I met him once at a Christmas party and you'll hate this, Ned, but he went to Rufus Wainwright with Siouxsie and it was such a twin decadent glamour assault that me and my friend, an artist also from Leeds, didn't dare approach. Of course MA is going to cream himself for the boy, do the bloody maths.

Serious but stable is pretty good. He is accidentprone, isn't he?

(PS - Suzy, email me, I've lost yr details)

You mentioned the Rufus story before, Suzy, so fret not, I was aware. Despairing but aware. ;-)

A further update:

20th October 2004

We have been asked by Marc's family to pass on the following message:
"We would like to thank all Marc's friends and fans for all the cards,
flowers and messages of love and support. We can not give you anymore
information at this present time as we are being guided by the hospital.
Many thanks
Sandy, Julia and Sarah"

Once again we must stress, please DO NOT send any flowers or gifts to the
hospital. Marc's family request that people wishing to send something
instead make a donation to the Air Ambulance fund. The Air Ambulance is
part of the rapid response service that attended to Marc and is a vital
piece of the emergency service and is extremely under funded. Any donations
to this worthwhile cause will be greatly appreciated. If you would like to
make a donation please send a cheque to Christine Margetts, A and E
Department, Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, London, E1 2BB, UK. Please
make cheques payable to 'Virgin HEMS London Ltd'. (HEMS stands for
Helicopter Emergency Medical Service). If you wish to make a donation by
on-line payment the website will be live in approx five - seven days and
the address will be http://www.londonairambulance.org

yay!

Ah, great.

(wow, actual good news!)

I post this yesterday and none of you punks say anything. Bah!

But you didn't post it on the Marc Almond fighting for life after motorcycle accident thread, did you Ned?

I posted it on the other one talking about his general improvement, ya illiterate bums! ;-)

Anyway, now some even better news!

--

7th November 2004

Marc has left the Royal London and is now in a private hospital to continue
his recovery. We visited him today and his progress can only be described
as remarkable, he attributes a lot of this to the thousands of messages of
love and support he has received from fans, friends, the general public the
world over as well as many other recording artists. Marc has asked us to
once again let you know how much he appreciates all the messages but would
also like to remind people that he would prefer them to make a donation to
the Air Ambulance fund (details on the News page at the Theatre) rather
than send gifts and flowers. Although he has some way to go to full
recovery he is looking forward to getting back to work when he can. We
never imagined that after only three weeks we'd be sitting in a room
drinking tea and laughing and joking with him just like before (you'll be
pleased to hear his sense of humour hasn't suffered one bit!) and we are
pleased to be able to let you know how well he is doing.

Kate and Michelle
--------------------------------------------
Theatre of Marc Almond
http://www.marcalmond.co.uk
--------------------------------------------

And Marc has now at last been able to send out a message himself:

"It is now over a month since my motorcycle accident and finally it seems that many of the darker days of the ordeal are hopefully behind me. Also, this is the first time that I have been able to leave any kind of personal message. Without going into the gorier aspects of the accident, I have pieced it together from friends and witnesses, though much of it remains a blank for me.

I have eternal thanks to so many people who have helped me through the accident. I want to thank all the doctors and nurses who have done a brilliant job - they are too often undervalued in this world but not by me.

To all the artists, musicians and bands who sent their good wishes which has meant so very much. To my family and close friends who have been there throughout and have helped me through so much of the difficulties that we ordinarily take for granted, and to the fans from all over the world that have sent me so many fantastic messages of support and love. I am still overwhelmed. All these things together have helped me find an inner strength. I am grateful in so many ways for all the support - it has been a humbling and truly life changing experience.

Thanks also to Kate and Michelle who kept me informed as much as possible and the messages they passed onto me lifted my spirits, which at times have been very low. I know it will be quite a while before I'm back to normal, though hopefully it won't be as long as thought before.

Eternal thanks and love
Marc Almond"

I'm very happy to hear this. :)

Although, I have to admit, I'm wondering if he's heard about Jhonn's passing or not... if not, when. They were very close at one point, as far as musical relationships go, and surely they've stayed friends. I don't know if I want to imagine how he'd feel once he finds out. :(

I suspect by now he's learned, it's been a week. It crossed my mind as well, it wouldn't have been news he'd want to have heard, that's for sure.

Hmmm. I first read the header here as Marc Bolan fighting for life, and I was like, we are a bit behind now are we?

Anyway, great to see he is recovering.

Okay folks, here's Marc's first interview since the crash (yeah it's the Daily Mirror but there are worse fates I suppose). It really *was* as bad as it sounded, some queasy stuff herein. He's still recovering but his voice is apparently in fine shape yet. (And I did like the note that said instead of being paid for the story a donation was made to the London Air Ambulance folks.)

The singer, who spent five weeks in hospital, believes it was a CD of daft songs which finally roused him. "I have a parrot at home and I sing these silly, childish songs to it and they played me a CD of those songs.

"I also remember the tune Oh Superman, by Laurie Anderson, from when I was unconscious. Apparently somebody on the scene was playing it in their car and the lyrics are: 'You'd better get ready, ready to go'."

(And indeed there's a new DVD available at the end of the month of his Almeida performances from July, which should be a treat.)

thanks, ned: that's surprisingly in-depth for the Mirror.

my soft cell albums are long overdue their MP3-ing. that can be a task for tomorrow.

Observer Interview with Marc Almond
http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/features/story/0,11710,1396320,00.html

...reading a guardian review of antony and the johnsons in london it mentions marc almond came onstage and sang a duet with antony this week.
see review here

this thread revival frightened me for a sec there

...heh. sorry. just liked the idea of him getting back at it.

okay, pulse rate slowing now. good god man, don't do that to me!

Have you seen the pics of Antony and Marc together? With Antony in what can only be described as a frightwig.
http://www.marcalmond.co.uk/backstage/Marcs46.jpg
http://www.marcalmond.co.uk/backstage/Marcs47.jpg

WARGH. (To Antony, not Marc, who frankly looks great given everything -- also very glad he gave up on the blonde look, actually.)

Separated at birth: Antony & Julie Burchill.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38075000/jpg/_38075944_column5.jpg