Bernie Tormé placed on ventilator as his condition doesn’t improve
Bernie Tormé’s condition has sadly shown no signs of improvement as he continues to battle double pneumonia in intensive care.
The former Ozzy Osbourne, Gillan and Desperado guitarist was rushed to hospital at the start of the week with virulent pneumonia in both lungs.
A statement issued by Bernie’s family to Planet Rock this morning (15th February) reads: “Whilst Bernie remains in great hands in hospital, there has been no improvement in his condition and last night he was placed on a ventilator. Bernie remains in intensive care. Your continued thoughts, prayers and best wishes are most welcome.”
After news of Bernie’s hospitalisation emerged on Wednesday, Ozzy Osbourne and Dee Snider both sent their former band mate positive thoughts on social media.
Ozzy, who was hospitalised with flu and bronchitis this month, said: "Dearest @Bernie_Torme. Sending you positive vibes and love, and all our prayers. Love Ozzy and Sharon.”
> Dearest @Bernie_Torme,
>
> Sending you positive vibes and love, and all our prayers.
>
> Love Ozzy and Sharon pic.twitter.com/dLmWVgGBNH
>
> — Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) February 14, 2019
Bernie’s Desparado band mate Dee Snider said: “My dear friend @Bernie_Torme is very ill. Please join me in sending positive energy and love his way. He is more than worthy of your thoughts and prayers. Such a great guy. Love you, Bernie.”
> My dear friend @Bernie_Torme is very ill. Please join me in sending positive energy and love his way. He is more than worthy of your thoughts and prayers. Such a great guy. Love you, Bernie. > > — Dee Snider (@deesnider) February 14, 2019
Alongside the health update, Bernie’s family have also issued a separate statement today condemning PledgeMusic for owing Bernie £16,000.
They wrote: “PledgeMusic owe Bernie Torme almost £16000 which was due last December on completion of his recent ‘Shadowland’ PledgeMusic campaign.
“Bernie has paid for all recordings, merchandise, CDs and all postage costs to send Pledge items out to his fans out of his own pocket. He has as yet been unable to pay his musicians; drummer Mik Gaffney and bass player Simon Morton for their work on the album.
“This has been a very stressful situation for Bernie, exacerbated by the lack of communication coming from Pledge and, despite their promises, no sign of coming through with any solution to clear up the mess they have created.”
At the end of last month, Tyketto’s Danny Vaughn first detailed alleged problems artists are having with PledgeMusic in a 10-minute YouTube video, which went viral.
Vaughn urged fans to refrain from handing over money to PledgeMusic, as he claimed he’d only received a fraction of his total pledges of £26,702 for his new solo album Myths, Legends & Lies.
PledgeMusic later issued a statement, saying: “We are deeply sorry that we have not lived up to the high standards to which PledgeMusic always held itself. We are committed as a company of passionate music lovers to get things back on track as quickly as possible.”