After the recent revelation that Charlatans drummer Jon Brookes was suffering from a brain tumor, it comes as a bit of a surprise and relief for fans of the Britpop band to hear that Brookes is on the mend and will apparently rejoin the band soon. Speaking with BBC Newsbeat, frontman Tim Burgess said that the drummer might even return to the tour as early as November.
“
He wants to go to Australia, which is in six weeks time,” Burgess said. “
I think that’s the most realistic way to look at everything.”
Burgess recalled the night Brookes collapsed at a Philadelphia venue two weeks ago.
“Jon just stopped playing. Myself and Mark [Collins, guitarist] didn’t know what to do,” he said. “We looked over at him and he gave us a really distant look. Our tour manager walked on stage and took his drumsticks out of his hands. A doctor saw what was going on and said, ‘Let me on stage, I’m a doctor.’ Jon then started to faint. The doctor told everyone to get off stage and call 911. I think Jon would have caused quite a lot of damage to himself if he hadn’t have been there. At first we all thought it was dehydration, but then things seemed to take a turn for the worse.”
Fortunately, things seem to be getting better for Brookes. “At this moment in time things are looking on the up,” Burgess said. “He's resting and he’s with his family and Pete [Salisbury from The Verve] is helping us out.”
The Charlatans’ tour resumes on October 5th in Hatfield, England.
Thanks for the report to Michael Wright, Gibson.com.
