Marty Wilde set for heart operation after he collapsed amid health scare over summer
The iconic singer is returning to hospital later this month to undergo treatment. His hospital stint followed after a health scare during the summer
Singer Marty Wilde has said he will need to have a heart operation after a health scare earlier in the summer.
The father of Kim Wilde and one of the leading British rock and roll singers of the Fifties and Sixties, will return to hospital later this month for an additional cardioversion treatment.
Appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, he said: “I got an irregular heartbeat which is going to be fixed shortly. In two weeks’ time I go in for a small op.
“Originally I just collapsed, I didn’t know what it was and went into hospital and came out and had to go in again the next day, and they fitted in a pacemaker, which is here.
“And great things they are, too, so I feel fine now.”
The treatment – under general anaesthetic – sees electrical pads placed on the chest so a small controlled shock can be delivered to the heart with a defibrillator to get it back into the right rhythm. He needs to isolate for two weeks before the op (and two weeks afterwards) so he is currently out working and promoting his new duet with daughter Kim called 60s World which is part of a new album he is releasing on October 2.
His daughter Kim added: “To see my dad at 81, after his really quite dramatic health scare, he underplays it but it was a very serious time, and then to come back so strong, is so inspiring, with such great songs.”
Marty is also full of praise for the NHS and the treatment he will receive and their work fitting a pacemaker earlier in the year.
He said: “I feel the same way about collapsing in lockdown and going through this process as I did about that cancer. I get frightened, but I don’t get terrified. I thought: ‘Well, just get on with it’. That’s what you’ve got to do. You can’t sit around maudlin. Get on and do your best to fix it.
“The NHS and the people working for it… they are stars. Everybody in that hospital is treated at the same level. You’re all given care and attention and, in many cases, love. They give people a reason to want to live and to carry on with life.
“I’ve watched them close up – tending me and others. It taught me how much they care. I have great respect for them.
They don’t care if you’re 90, they will still do the best in the world for you. I found that so emotional.
“The great thing is how everyone integrates you know, all colours and creeds. We need each other. That’s one message that must get across to this country and to the world. We need each other – especially in these COVID times. We stand together.”
Unsurprisingly for a man who has spent his life in the music business, he says he finds it therapeutic.
He added: “As soon as I play music, I feel better. Music keeps me young.
“It’s my lifeblood. I woke up this morning and immediately a song was going round in my head. It’s something I’ve had most of my life. Music – for all of the family – is our lifeblood.”
* The single 60s World will be released alongside the album Running Together on October 2.
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