Blackie Lawless Heath Update: WASP Frontman Reveals Broken Vertebra Ahead of North American Tour

Blackie Lawless shared an update regarding his health ahead of his North American tour with W.A.S.P.

The European leg of W.A.S.P's 40th Never Stops World Tour 2023 almost faced cancelation after its frontman sustained an injury. He successfully performed throughout the dates while remaining seated, and he recently shared a health update ahead of the band's North American leg.

Blackie Lawless Shares Health Update Ahead of W.A.S.P's North American Tour

Lawless appeared in an interview on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" May 25 episode during which he opened up about W.A.S.P's European tour completion. The frontman spoke highly of the band and said that they were able to attend all the tour dates while he was suffering a herniated disc in his back.

He broke his right femur 10 years ago and was able to have his lift removed a year ago. However, problems surfaced after they took it out as it caused his vertebrae to compress some of his back's discs.

"I ended up rupturing a disk, and then that starts leaking out a gelatin that then wraps itself around the nerves coming out of the spinal cord," he said. "And that then creates this thing called nerve pain. And I don't know if people understand what that is, because I had heard of it but I had never experienced it before."

Lawless called the pain "unlike anything" someone ever experienced before, leading him to go to Berlin to receive treatment four times. However, it also caused him to receive eight epidurals throughout the W.A.S.P.'s tour due to extreme pain.

The singer recalled going into a surgical center where a needle was inserted into him to touch the spinal cord with it. While it helped him with the pain, he was reportedly warned how it could lead to further damage and was advised to undergo mechanical compression while doing a show in Berlin.

As of press time, he is reportedly struggling with a cracked vertebra but assured it would be healed before the band's US leg tour.

W.A.S.P's US Tour

Before Lawless shared the update, the band confirmed the arrival of the 40th Never Stops World Tour 2023 in North America.

The 33-city run, produced by Live Nation, will begin on Aug. 4 at the Fremont Theatre in San Luis Obispo, California, according to the band.
Here are the W.A.S.P's US tour dates and venues as of press time:

Aug. 04 - San Luis Obispo, CA - Fremont Theatre

Aug. 05 - Wheatland, CA - Hard Rock Live Sacramento

Aug. 07 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater

Aug. 08 - Vancouver, BC - Vogue Theatre

Aug. 10 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre

Aug. 11 - Spokane, WA - The Podium

Aug. 12 - Garden City, ID - Revolution Concert House and Event Center

Aug. 13 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot

Aug. 15 - Omaha, NE - Steelhouse Omaha

Aug. 16 - Minneapolis, MN - The Fillmore Minneapolis presented by Affinity Plus

Aug. 17 - Moline, IL - The Rust Belt

Aug. 18 - Eau Claire, WI - RCU Theater