Sad news for Jethro Tull fans.
Legendary Ian Anderson has revealed that he is suffering from “an incurable lung disease” called COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
He disclosed it on Dan Rather‘s “The Big Interview”, which will air Wednesday night (May 13) on AXS TV.
He said:
“I’m going to tell you something I’ve never told anybody in public before — I am suffering from an incurable lung disease which I was diagnosed with a couple of years back.
“I do struggle. I have what are called exacerbation’s — periods when I get an infection that turns into severe bronchitis and I have maybe two or three weeks when it’s really a tough job to go out there on stage and play.
“Fingers crossed, I’ve gone 18 months now without an exacerbation and I’m on medication. If I’m kept in a reasonably pollution-free environment in terms of air quality, I do okay. But my days are numbered.
“It’s not yet at the point that it affects my day to day life — I can still run for the bus.”
As for his prognosis, Anderson said:
“Fight it all the way — keep using as much of your lung power as you’re lucky enough to have and push it to the limit all the time. The minute you settle back and say, ‘I can’t do this any more,’ it’s a slippery slope. The answer is keep pushing.”
He added:
“I spend 50 years of my life on stage among those wretched things that I call smoke machines. Today, they’re politely referred to as hazers, as if they’re somehow innocent and not damaging to you lungs. I really do believe that’s a very significant part of the problem I have.”