Wattie Buchan, the leader of iconic Scottish punks The Exploited, is back in Scotland after collapsing on stage during a concert in Bogota, Colombia and denies, on Instagram, that he is dead.
Towards the end of the band’s gig at La Estrella Roja Calle 66 as he sang ‘Army Life’ Wattie clutched his chest and fell to the floor in agony. The band stopped when they saw Wattie struggling and shouted at security to get help. The singer was immediately rushed to the hospital with a suspected heart attack.
The 900-strong crowd refused to leave the venue until they heard that the 65-year-old singer, (who had tried to continue to perform) was ok.
Wattie was well enough to take a selfie as he was carted off to the hospital and messaged the fans on his Instagram page, saying, “Thankfully am feeling a bit better, but still really fucked.”
The band, who were formed in the Scottish capital in 1979, revealed to STV News that “king of punk”, Wattie is now on the mend, but they would have to cancel the rest of the 2022 tour on “doctor’s orders”.
This is not the first time Wattie has collapsed on stage because of heart issues. He had a heart attack on stage in February 2014 at a concert in Lisbon, Portugal, after which he had to undergo a quadruple bypass. A few years later, in 2017, Buchan was taken to hospital in Belgium because of “serious problems with his heart” in the middle of the band’s European tour.
A few hours ago, Wattie returned to Instagram saying the rumours of his death are nothing more than “fake news,” and he’s very much alive and undergoing tests in the hospital in Edinburgh.
Punktuation wishes Wattie a quick road to recovery and a chilled, relaxed, stress-free Christmas. Take it easy, Wattie!
Follow Wattie & the Exploited on socials…
Read more of the latest in punk
- Luke Seymoup releases new single ‘Pop Songs’
- Review: Wingmen album launch and Q & A
- Quick Release – The latest in Punk Releases – Snippits
- Check Out the New Bad Brains Mural Painted by Shepard Fairey in Downtown Manhattan!
- Iggy Pop drops new song ‘Strung Out Johnny’
- Punk Supergroup OFF! Announce Spring 2023 North American Tour
- Rage Against The Machine’s Tim Commerford’s Secret Battle with Prostate Cancer
- New Found Glory release new video ‘Walk Through Fire’
- Interview: Newtown Neurotics- “We’re a NOW band, we’re writing music and lyrics that reflect what’s happening around us”.
- Interview: Punk stalwarts The Zips, unzipped!
- The Stranglers’ drummer Jet Black dies aged 84
- New Jersey’s legendary punk rock hall City Gardens in ‘imminent’ danger of collapse
- Sarchasm release farewell album ‘Conditional Love’
I’m a London born and bred music journalist, a mediocre bass player and the occasional strummer of the guitar. In the ’80s I worked in recording studios and made a few records you’d probably recognise. I have written a couple of books and made the odd media appearance as a music commentator. I now call Brisbane home.
Did you know that we are 100% DIY? We run our own game. No one dictates to us, and no one drives what we can or cannot put on our pages – and this is how we plan to continue!
