Those recently canceled Pearl Jam shows? Eddie says it was a “near-death experience.”

If you’ve been following Pearl Jam’s current European tour, you’ll know that the band recently canceled a bunch of shows in London and Germany. The official reason was an undisclosed illness (although some cynics claimed that it had something to do with poor ticket sales. Not so.)

So what was the illness? Eddie wasn’t well. When the band arrived in Barcelona, Eddie came clean, saying the he was the sick one, suffering from a “frightening” kind of “chest bronchitis.” I quote:

“Can I just say that last week almost felt like a near-death experience. It was very uncomfortable, and it got frightening. It felt like chest bronchitis. It felt like maybe you couldn’t breathe, and maybe you wouldn’t make it through the night, and maybe you’d have to go to the hospital.”

And it wasn’t just Eddie. A few other members of Pearl Jam also fell ill, although not as bad as Eddie.

Eddie had more to say to the audience in Barcelona:

“You just realise how precious this life is. How lucky we are to have been living on a planet where we can go around and play to incredible people like the people in this room here tonight. So, it was a poignant experience. I won’t be forgetting it anytime soon. And we won’t be forgetting tonight anytime soon.”

Here’s video of the address. You can still hear it in Eddie’s voice.