RYAN ADAMS – ‘I COULD HAVE BEEN PARALYSED’

In an exclusive interview, the star tells NME.COM about the accident that could have ended his career...

Ryan Adams could lose 20 per cent of the movement in his wrist following a horrific fall in LIVERPOOL that has forced the cancellation of his NME AWARDS SHOW next month.

On Sunday (January 25) Ryan Adams called NME.COM to give his only interview about the accident, which happened at the Liverpool Royal Court (January 22). Ryan Adams fell six feet into the orchestra pit and fractured his left wrist during ‘Shadowlands’. His leg is also injured and his microphone smashed his lip as he fell.

He told NME.COM: “I heard the noise but I didn’t feel the pain. The sound of my wrist breaking off my arm was really loud. It popped. People heard it. I think you could hear the break. I remember thinking ‘OK, my neck is fine’, then making sure my back was OK. Then people came to help me. Then I looked at my arm and went ‘Oh shit!’ To begin with I thought it was just swollen but after a first glance I knew exactly what had happened. I was thinking ‘This is it, it’s fucked’.”

Advertisement

By the time the medics arrived, Ryan Adams

was close to passing out. He continued: “By the time I walked off and saw it, it was so fucking heinous. These ER people had to cut off all my bracelets. When they were cutting them off my 1974 tattoo, blood was coming out of my skin even though there was no cut. It was trickling through my pores. That was when I almost fainted. Some people couldn’t look at it. “

The star was rushed to the Royal Liverpool Hospital for treatment. He was kept in overnight and then made a trip to London to see a specialist on Friday (January 23) where the decision was made to fly back to New York to recover. The initial diagnosis is that it could take two months to set the bone, and Ryan Adams could lose some of the mobility in his wrist.

Ryan Adams

continued: “They said it’ll take at least six weeks or two months. That’s for the bones to take. They might have to wire it together with metal wires. The guess now is that I could lose up to 20 per cent of the mobility in my wrist. That’s the percentage I won’t be able to bend it any more. My fingers and hand will be fine but I’ll have to re-train my wrist. We’ll see about guitar but it might make me a great piano player! I have a feeling I’ll be able to pull through. It’s all about making sure I can get my wrist about a guitar.”

While at home the singer is will see a specialist. It’s probable that Ryan Adams

Advertisement

will have to go through a period of intense physio. As a result, shows in mainland Europe, including his hugely anticipate NME Awards Show at Brixton Academy (February 11) have been pulled. It’s likely it will be rescheduled for a later date.

For the full story, see this week’s NME, issue dated January 31.

You May Also Like

Advertisement

TRENDING

Advertisement

More Stories