Scottish punk pioneers The Exploited have been going at it for while. Forty-plus years into their career, the band is now aging and dealing with matters beyond music. On Saturday, frontman Wattie Buchan collapsed onstage during a show in Colombia from a suspected heart attack.
The 65-year-old vocalist, who has a track record of heart problems, lost consciousness and fell to the floor as the group performed “Army Life.” As per a statement released by the band, he had been laboring through the set until he no longer could. He was then rushed to the hospital while majority of the audience stayed at the venue, leaving only after finding out he was alright.
A spokesperson for band issued the following statement to STV News:
“The last gig in Colombia, Wattie had another suspected heart attack. He tried playing on but had to actually stop a couple of songs until he eventually collapsed. He got taken away to hospital in an ambulance but over 900 people refused to leave the venue until he heard he was alright.”
Soon after, The Exploited posted their own statement on Facebook in which they cancelled the remainder of their 2022 tour dates:
“[On] December 10th, 2022 during the end of the set Wattie collapsed on stage in Bogota, COL and was rushed into hospital by ambulance. Thankfully Wattie is feeling better now and is resting in a hotel in Bogota. … Due to doctor’s orders all remaining shows for 2022 have been cancelled. We apologize to the fans, promoters and everyone affected by this situation. Thank you for understanding. Also our London show on the 16th December will also be cancelled once again we are sorry about this but Wattie is exhausted and told to cancel all up coming gigs for this year.”
Buchan previously suffered a heart attack in 2014 during a show in Lisbon, Portugal, following which he underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery.
“I thought I wouldn’t be able to do gigs anymore, so I’m just glad I can still do gigs,” Buchan subsequently said about the incident. (Consequence)
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