One half of the dance duo Bicep, Matt McBriar, has undergone surgery to remove a “large and pretty rare” brain tumour.
The Belfast-born producer had the surgery last Friday (August 9). The good news is that it has gone well and he is currently recovering in hospital.
He explained in a social media post that he was first alerted to the problem late last year. "Towards the end of 2023, I got some intense localised headaches matched with a weird fatigue that felt new," the producer said. "I got several blood tests in spring 2024 which came back indicating that something was wrong, so my GP arranged an MRI followed by a CT scan."
It was at this stage that a craniopharyngioma tumour was discovered. To his huge relief it wasn’t cancerous and having caught it early, it could be operated on. “I’d been very lucky to get those initial blood tests followed by an MRI. Had it been much longer I might’ve lost some eyesight and a load of other problems due to the size and position of the tumour pressing on my optic nerves."
During this time McBriar decided to keep working, as a distraction more than anything. His post-surgery recovery will take anything between six and eight weeks and some aftercare. “I’m feeling incredibly grateful and lucky,” he added.
He also paid tribute to all the NHS staff who have cared for him: “The support I’ve received has been incredible, I can’t say this enough. Appointments were arranged with sometimes only hours’ notice and communication was incredibly fast and direct. Our healthcare system is very precious and worth fighting for!”
In his meantime his bandmate Andrew Ferguson will keep the Bicep flag flying on his own. Bicep set to perform at Creamfields on August 22 and have North American dates pencilled in for September.
The duo have been one of the leading names in UK dance music for over a decade now. Originally from Northern Ireland but now based in London, they signed to Ninja Tune in 2017 and have released two albums: their self-titled debut, and 2021's acclaimed Isles, which reached number two in the album charts.
