Del Amitri singer Justin Currie opens up about his Parkinson's diagnosis
He says Parkinson's will stop him performing
Justin Currie, founding member and singer in the band Del Amitri, recently revealed he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's, and opened up about the diagnosis in an emotional interview where he admitted it will stop him performing.
59-year-old Justin is the longest-serving member of the band after it was formed back in 1980, and spoke on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme where he admitted: "I can't play the way I would expect to."
He added: "I know it will get worse. At what rate, nobody knows. So I know I'm going to have to stop. The idea is quite grim."
The singer, who said he always imagined playing until he was 80, is set to go on tour with the rest of the band, as special guests on the Simple Minds tour, and will be playing across the UK and Europe later this year.
Also, speaking to the BBC, Justin revealed what it was like living with Parkinson's saying: "With any form of disability, you become aware of disability in general, and you become acutely aware of that line that disabled people have been saying for years - that there aren't able-bodied people, there are just a lot of people who are not yet disabled.
"So I quite like that. I quite like the idea that we're all going to go through some of these difficulties at some point in life."
He went on to say: "That ridiculous cliché, 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger', that's not true.
"If you lose a leg you are not strong. And I am not stronger for having Parkinson's, believe you me."
Del Amitri are best-known for their songs in the 80s and 90s, in particular, 'Nothing Ever Happens', and 'Roll To Me'. In 1998, they also released 'Don't Come Home Too Soon', which was a Number 1 hit in Scotland for the band.
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