Queen guitarist Sir Brian May has revealed he has suffered a stroke that left him unable to use his arm.
The legendary musician, 77, made the announcement in a video shared on his personal website earlier today.
However, Sir Brian – who looked animated and well in the video blog despite the medical scare – he said he can still play guitar following what he called his ‘little health hiccup’.
‘I’m here to bring you some good news – the good news is that I can play guitar after the events of the last few days,’ he said, twiddling his fingers for emphasis.
‘I say this because it was in some doubt because that little health hiccup that I mentioned happened about a week ago and what they called it was a minor stroke.’
Brian May has revealed he suffered a stroke last week that left him unable to use his left arm
May is the guitarist in legendary rock band Queen (pictured: John Deacon, Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor Queen in 1970)
Sir Brian revealed the incident left him temporarily unable to use his left arm – but that he had a ‘very exciting’ emergency ambulance journey to Frimley Hospital in Surrey.
He has praised staff there for giving him the ‘most fantastic care’.
‘I didn’t want to say anything at the time because I didn’t want anything surrounding, you know. I really don’t want sympathy,’ he added.
‘Please don’t do that because it’ll clutter up my inbox and I hate that.’
But the animal rights activist, who has campaigned against the culling of badgers to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis, says he is currently ‘grounded’ as a result of the medical scare.
‘The good news is I’m okay. Just doing what I’m told, which is basically nothing. I’m grounded.
‘I’m not allowed to go out – well, I’m not allowed to drive, not allowed to get on a plane, not allowed to raise the heart rate too high… but I’m good.’
Sir Brian courted controversy last month after filming a BBC documentary, Brian May: The Badgers, The Farmers and Me, in which he blasted the ongoing badger cull, which has killed tens of thousands of the creatures.
It inflamed a BBC bias row amid claims that commissioning the film was ‘incompatible’ with the broadcaster’s impartiality rules.
This is a breaking story, more to follow.