Danny Bowes of the rock band Thunder is known for his powerful voice. According to a recent interview with Leona Graham on her podcast, The Leona Graham Podcast, a near-fatal accident almost claimed his life; and less importantly, his ability to speak.
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During the podcast, Bowe talked about how a sudden and dangerous brain injury that he sustained from a stroke in 2022 made it almost impossible for him to sing. He still struggles with the effects of the injury today. But thankfully, he walked away with his life and his ability to speak. And even though he can’t sing much nowadays, he hasn’t given up on his career.
Danny Bowes on the Head Injury That Nearly Took His Life: “I’m Doing My Level Best”
When asked about how the injury in question affected his ability to sing, Bowes compared it to having “something stuck” in his throat.
“So I can sing the loud bits, I can sing the quiet bits, but I can’t join them together,” Bowes said. “I can’t do those transitions. So until I can, it is really difficult to contemplate the idea of being able to sing again, but I am working on it. I’m doing my level best.”
What an inspiration. For reference, in 2022, Bowes suffered a stroke while at a party. When the stroke occurred, Bowes fell and sustained a head injury from the fall. After being rushed to the hospital, doctors had to operate on him for about five hours to save his life. At first, Bowes said that no one knew what the actual illness or injury was.
“Nobody knew it at the beginning,” said Bowes. “It was only afterwards that, because where I hit my head was directly on top of where the stroke had taken place. It was only afterwards, when they put it together, that they realized both of the things had happened. So it wasn’t a straightforward situation. And I can’t honestly say I’ve had a fun time over the last three years. It’s not been fun.”
I have to hand it to Bowes for his resilience. Bowes later admitted that as a result of the stroke, he suffers from globus pharyngis, a condition that can affect one’s ability to speak and sing. There is no known cure.
Bowes’ injury hasn’t stopped him from doing what he loves. His spoken word tour, Maximum Chat, is set to kick off on June 1 in the UK.
Photo by Frank Hoensch/Redferns
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