Ongoing History Daily: Worn out rock’n’roll hips

June 22, 2022 Alan Cross 0 Comments 0 min read

One part of the body that gives rock stars problems in old age is the hip. The hips can take a lot of abuse and may eventually wear out causing lots of pain.

If you’re a guitarist, having that thing hang around your neck for decades can cause problems. That’s what happened to Tom Petty and Eddie Van Halen. Wearing crazy shoes doesn’t help, either. That’s what happened to Prince. Both those things affected Paul Stanley of KISS and he needed both of his joints replaced. Tom Petty ended up on opioids (which ended up killing him) because of bad hip pain.

It’s also the situation with Liam Gallagher, although his bad hips can be blamed on a thyroid condition. He originally refused to have the operations because he believes there’s an old man stigma to getting new hips, but the pain has increased to the point where he’s had to reconsider.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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