Last week, former Gillan and Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Bernie Tormé was rushed to hospital (opens in new tab) suffering from virulent pneumonia in both lungs.
On Friday, his family said there had been no improvement in his health and that he’d been placed on a ventilator (opens in new tab).
They also reported that Tormé was still owed £16,000 from PledgeMusic which was due to paid to him back in December for his latest album Shadowland, and, as a result, he was unable to pay his musicians Mik Gaffney and Simon Morton.
Now fans have stepped in to try and help, with Andy Worthington opening a Just Giving page to help raise cash for the guitarist (opens in new tab).
A statement on the page reads: “Here’s hoping us loyal fans can help Bernie and his family with short-term bills etc until we can hopefully see him on to the long road to recovery.
“You know Bernie, he would never ask but perhaps this time we owe it to Bernie and his family.”
The campaign is looking to raise £3250 and has almost reached its target.
In January, PledgeMusic came under the spotlight when it was revealed they were behind on payments to some artists, including Danny Vaughn (opens in new tab).
Then last week, Queensryche issued a statement to say they were “bamboozled by the people at PledgeMusic” (opens in new tab) after it emerged that they too were owed cash, leaving them unable to fulfil orders for their new album The Verdict.
PledgeMusic has suspended services on all active campaigns for the time being and issued a statement on Friday (opens in new tab) saying: “We are deeply sorry for what you are going through and are working around the clock to resolve any and all outstanding issues."
