“My hands just wouldn’t work. There was no way I could play the guitar. It was pretty scary”: Rockabilly icon Brian Setzer on his recovery from the autoimmune condition that stopped him playing guitar

Brian Setzer wears a red neckerchief and plays a Gretsch in traditional Round-up Orange in this Stray Cats performance from 2019.

Brian Setzer says that he feels “98 per cent” and is playing as good as he ever has after recovering from an autoimmune condition that left him unable to play the guitar.

Speaking to Guitar World, the Stray Cats frontman admitted that his career was hanging in the balance, after losing the use of his hands in late 2024.