Clutch Fallon feared he'd never sing again

Clutch frontman Neil Fallon feared he'd never sing again after major surgery.

The 42-year-old is back on the road after last year’s surgery in which he had screws inserted in his neck to repair long-standing back problems.

But the procedure involved doctors putting a tube down his throat – which they warned could have permanently damaged his vocal cords.

Fallon tells Get Your Rock Out in the video below: “I knew this was a really serious thing. What really scared me was that you get put completely under and they jam a ventilator down your windpipe. They have to yank your oesophagus and your trachea off to one side. I was told by the doctor that I may come out of this unable to sing again. The pipe goes past your vocal cords and it’s such a violent procedure that sometimes the vocal cords can get torn.”

Fallon tested his voice almost as soon as he woke up from the surgery. “I kind of sat there when I came to and the first thing I did was try to hum a tune. But I was so high on morphine I couldn’t tell you what it was.

“It was definitely a period of reflection – because I have no marketable skills outside of what I do with this band.”

Clutch, who last year had to cancel a tour in support of latest album Earth Rocker due to Fallon’s condition, are currently on the road in the UK.

Neil Fallon interview

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.