“I couldn’t even walk, but I thought, ‘At least I can play guitar!’ When I picked one up, I just couldn’t. That was the final straw”: Deryck Whibley had to rebuild Sum 41 after nearly dying – so why is he ready to break up the band?

Deryck Whibley and his 1968 Les Paul.

If there’s anything that sits chief among every guitarist’s list of deepest and darkest fears, it’s the thought of not being able to pick up their favorite instrument ever again. Sum 41 singer/guitarist Deryck Whibley experienced this living nightmare back in 2014, after being hospitalized with severe kidney and liver damage as a direct consequence of alcohol addiction.

He was told in no uncertain terms that one more drink could be fatal, which prompted him to decide enough was enough. He knew he had plenty of music left in him. There was just one problem: he didn’t have the strength to hold a guitar, let alone play one.