Liam Gallagher has said that he is prepared to live in pain to avoid having a double hip replacement.
The former Oasis frontman, 49, who has arthritis as a result of thyroid problems, has been advised that he needs the operation.
However, Gallagher said that he has turned down the procedure because of the “stigma” he believes it carries.
“My hips are f***ed. I’ve got arthritis, bad… I went to get it checked and my bones are mashed up,” he told Mojo magazine.
“The lady was going, ‘You might need a hip operation, a replacement.’ No way. I think I’d rather just be in pain, which is ridiculous, obviously. I know that; just get them fixed.
“But it’s also the stigma, saying you’ve had your hips replaced… what’s next?”
Gallagher said he was also put off by the “one in a million” chance he could die during the operation, saying he would rather be in a wheelchair.
Gallagher takes herbal sleeping tablets to cope with the pain of his arthritis during the night. He used to jog on Hampstead Heath in London but has had to stop doing so on the doctor’s advice.
He will, however, continue to perform. This summer he will headline two huge shows at Knebworth Park in Hertfordshire. Gallagher also has tour dates around the world lined up right through until November. He is releasing his new album C’mon You Know next month.
“My new thing is Deep Heat,” he said. “Caked myself in it on the knees and hips, the calves, then into the steam room for as long as I can handle it.”
Now that’s rock ‘n’ roll.
