Marc Almond Critically Injured In Bike Smash

[BadCoverVersion]

From NME.COM



MARC ALMOND CRITICALLY INJURED IN BIKE SMASH

MARC ALMOND is critically ill after a motorcycle crash in LONDON.


The Soft Cell star is currently in hospital after an accident in central London yesterday.

Almond was a passenger on a bike that was involved in an accident with a car near Cannon Street station around 4pm yesterday. He was taken to hospital for emergency surgery.

A spokesman for City of London Police told BBCnews: "There was a serious collision between a car and a motorcycle at the junction of Cannon Street and New Change in the City of London.

"Both the motorcycle rider and the pillion passenger are in hospital. The rider has severe injuries and the pillion passenger is critical. City of London Policeare investigating the collision. Marc Almond was the pillion passenger."

NME.COM understands Almond is suffering from serious head injuries.

An eye-witness told the London Evening Standard newspaper: "There was an almighty bang as the bike crashed with the car. Both the motorcyclist and his passenger were thrown into the air and landed in the road.

"Lots of people rushed to help and about five minutes later 999 crews arrived and closed off the area. I heard someone say it was Marc Almond. He looked like he had done a lot of damage to his head.”

The singer is currently at the Royal London Hospital. A statement issued by the hospital asks that "privacy is respected at this time."

This is sad news.

I heartily dig Almond as an artist and a personality.

Here's hoping the bloke pulls through.

[Psychocandy]

Well the news on Yahoo about three o'clock today was that he was recovering and in stable condition so unless it's being misreported then he's not critical anymore. Hope he pulls through and makes a complete recovery. He's a talented dude with a phenomenal voice. I heard a few tracks from his last album and it sound very good indeed. Very lush and orchestral.

[jeo4]

I hope he gets well soon. This is terrible news.

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Originally posted by Psychocandy
Well the news on Yahoo about three o'clock today was that he was recovering and in stable condition so unless it's being misreported then he's not critical anymore. Hope he pulls through and makes a complete recovery. He's a talented dude with a phenomenal voice. I heard a few tracks from his last album and it sound very good indeed. Very lush and orchestral.

You're not wrong Psycho.

Here's an update from Scotsman.com

Singer Marc Almond badly hurt in motorcycle crash

MARC Almond, the former leader singer of the 1980s pop band Soft Cell, was last night fighting for his life after a motorcycle crash.

Almond, whose band scored a No 1 hit in 1981 with Tainted Love, suffered serious injuries in the accident in central London.

The 48-year-old was riding pillion when the Suzuki bike was in collision with a Vauxhall car, a spokesman for City of London Police said yesterday. He is believed to have injured his head after being thrown on to the road in the crash on Sunday afternoon.

Both Almond and the rider, who also suffered severe injuries, are being treated at The Royal London Hospital but Almond’s condition, which was initially described as "critical", had improved by last night, according to medical staff.

Among the well-wishers yesterday was his past recording partner Gene Pitney.

American crooner Pitney, whose duet with Almond of his song Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart became one of the biggest-selling single records of 1990 and gave Pitney his first No 1 hit in the UK, paid tribute to the Soft Cell singer’s "tremendous talent".

He said the news that Almond’s condition in hospital has now stabilised was "terrific" and he hoped he would be well enough to go back to work soon.

But Pitney - best-known for his hit 24 Hours From Tulsa - jokingly warned his former duet partner, with whom he earned the tag "The Odd Couple" after they performed dressed contrastingly in a white tuxedo and black leather, to stay away from motorcycles from now on.

City of London Police are investigating the collision, which they described as "serious".

Duo Soft Cell, one of the biggest-selling acts of the early Eighties, split in 1984. Tainted Love, a cover of Gloria Jones’s soul classic, was the biggest-selling UK single of 1981 and the 10th biggest seller ever in the US at the time.

Other hits for the band included Torch, Bedsitter and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

After the split, Almond went on to have single success with covers of Scott Walker’s Jacky, David McWilliams’ Days Of Pearly Spencer and Gene Pitney’s Something’s Gotten Hold Of My Heart.

Flamboyant frontman Almond and musician David Ball reformed in 2001 to play a gig launching new venue Ocean in Hackney, east London. In 2002 the duo released a new album Cruelty Without Beauty, which was followed by a tour of Britain, Europe and America. A single The Night, taken from the new album, was a top 40 hit and saw Soft Cell perform together on Top Of The Pops for the first time since the 1980s. Almond has since gone on to develop a career as a DJ.

It's good to hear that Marc is back on the mend ...and bless cuddly ol' Gene Pitney and his kind words.

[PrettyInPink]

Good luck to Marc, lets hope he is up and about soon.