UB40 star Earl Falconer has reflected on his near-death meningitis diagnosis a year on from the terrifying experience.

The musician, 65, who is a bass player and singer with the reggae band has been left having ‘mad dreams’ and battling distorted hearing which has impacted his ability to play music.

The star, who lives in Staffordshire, was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis – inflammation of the membranes which surround the brain and spinal cord – in October 2023, after returning home from a holiday in Ibiza and collapsing in his kitchen.

He has now told how the aftermath of the serious illness has been ‘brutal’ for him as a musician, but he feels ‘lucky to be here’ after fearing he wouldn’t survive while in hospital.

Earl told PA Real Life: ‘Just live life every day because life’s really precious and you never know what’s around the corner. It could all go pear-shaped.

UB40 star Earl Falconer has reflected on his near-death meningitis diagnosis a year on from the terrifying experience
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UB40 star Earl Falconer has reflected on his near-death meningitis diagnosis a year on from the terrifying experience

The musician, 67, who is a bass player and singer with the reggae band has been left having 'mad dreams' and battling distorted hearing which has impacted his ability to play music
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The musician, 67, who is a bass player and singer with the reggae band has been left having ‘mad dreams’ and battling distorted hearing which has impacted his ability to play music

‘Luckily, I came out the other end, a little bit impaired and a bit shaken up, but I’m a pretty positive person, so I just see it as another challenge. That’s the way I look at it – it’s just another thing that life throws at you.’

After collapsing in his kitchen he woke up in hospital two weeks later, believing he was in Mexico City and having ‘all these mad dreams’.

He then learnt of his diagnosis after receiving life saving treatment at Walsall Manor Hospital.

A year on Earl has made an almost full recovery and has returned to music, currently playing in New Zealand on UB40’s latest tour.

It all began after he returned from a trip to Ibiza when he noticed mucus coming out of his nose which he later found out was the fluid that had swollen up around his brain and spinal cord coming out of his nose.

Four days after the holiday he collapsed and has patchy memories after that but he woke up two weeks later in hospital after being on a ventilator – thinking he was in Mexico City and having a series of bizarre dreams.

He said: ‘It took me about four or five days to realise I wasn’t actually there. I was having all these mad dreams, dream after dream after dream.

‘There were times when I knew it was touch and go, even though I was in a mad dream state, and I remember all the doctors being around me and I thought, ‘I’m probably not going to wake up tomorrow’.

The star, who lives in Staffordshire, was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis - inflammation of the membranes which surround the brain and spinal cord - in October 2023, after returning home from a holiday in Ibiza and collapsing in his kitchen
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The star, who lives in Staffordshire, was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis – inflammation of the membranes which surround the brain and spinal cord – in October 2023, after returning home from a holiday in Ibiza and collapsing in his kitchen

The band: L-R: Mickey Virtue, James Brown, Robin Campbell, and (sitting L-R) Earl Falconer, Astro, Norman Hassan, Brian Travers and Ali Campbell
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The band: L-R: Mickey Virtue, James Brown, Robin Campbell, and (sitting L-R) Earl Falconer, Astro, Norman Hassan, Brian Travers and Ali Campbell

He has now told how the aftermath of the serious illness has been 'brutal' for him as a musician, but he feels 'lucky to be here' after fearing he wouldn't survive while in hospital
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He has now told how the aftermath of the serious illness has been ‘brutal’ for him as a musician, but he feels ‘lucky to be here’ after fearing he wouldn’t survive while in hospital

Earl told PA Real Life: 'Just live life every day because life's really precious and you never know what's around the corner. It could all go pear-shaped
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View gallery

Earl told PA Real Life: ‘Just live life every day because life’s really precious and you never know what’s around the corner. It could all go pear-shaped

He poignantly added that while he was in hospital he had resigned himself to the fact that he was ‘probably going to die.’

In November 2023, the band issued a statement as he recovered saying: ‘I would just want to say on a personal note to anybody who is 65 and over, to please get inoculated for meningitis…

‘I was due to have my injection this coming January, so I was a bit unlucky, missing it by a few months.

‘I will definitely be back as soon as humanly possible. Thanks for all the lovely messages and support from family, friends and fans. Big love.’

UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England.

The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success.

Members include Jimmy Brown, Robin Campbell, Earl Falconer, Norman Hassan a and Matt Doyle.

Earl is sharing his story with Meningitis Research Foundation following World Meningitis Day on October 5. The charity is calling for 2,030 people from every part of the world to share their meningitis experience in Meningitis in your words.