UB40 star's 'mad dreams' after meningitis left him fighting for life

Earl Falconer, 65, was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis after returning from a holiday in Ibiza and collapsing in his kitchen

UB40's bassist Earl Falconer has revealed he nearly died of meningitis, which left him with "mad dreams" and impacted his hearing. Earl, aged 65, collapsed in his kitchen last October following a trip to Ibiza.

He awoke in hospital, mistakenly thought he was in Mexico City and experienced bizarre dreams. He ultimately received a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis, a potentially fatal condition that can rapidly claim lives.

Earl, who lives in Cannock, owes his recovery to the medical team at Walsall Manor Hospital. Now he is touring with UB40 in Auckland, New Zealand, battling through a hearing condition as a result of the illness.

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He told PA Real Life: "Just live life every day because life's really precious and you never know what's around the corner. It could all go pear-shaped. Luckily, I came out the other end, a little bit impaired and a bit shaken up, but I'm a pretty positive person, so I just see it as another challenge.

"That's the way I look at it it's just another thing that life throws at you." The Meningitis Research Foundation warned bacterial meningitis was a serious, potentially fatal disease, with initial symptoms often vague and including fever, vomiting, headaches and general malaise.

Earl, an active individual who enjoys cycling and hot yoga, had been in good health apart from an E. coli diagnosis about ten years ago. But after returning from a holiday in Ibiza last year, he noticed "mucus coming out (his) nose".

"I later discovered it was the fluid that had swollen around my brain and spinal cord that was coming out of my nose," Earl revealed. He collapsed but managed to crawl back to bed after this incident, although he admitted his memory was hazy.

He was later rushed by ambulance to Walsall Manor Hospital, where he received life-saving treatment. "I woke up two weeks later after being on a ventilator and I thought I was in Mexico City," he recalled. "It took me about four or five days to realise I wasn't there."

Earl was extremely weak, unable to even lift a glass of water. His hospital stay was described as "surreal", filled with "crazy" dreams, including one where he travelled to Australia for a cricket tournament, and another where he was driving an electric car as if he were in "an action film".

"I was having all these mad dreams, dream after dream after dream," he recounted. "There were times when I knew it was touch and go, even though I was in a mad dream state, and I remember all the doctors being around me and I thought, 'I'm probably not going to wake up tomorrow'.

"I was resigning myself to the fact I was probably going to die." Despite the grave situation, Earl spent a month in hospital where he received outstanding care, saying it was "the best treatment you could ever imagine". His condition eventually started improving as he began to walk again and gained strength.

On November 7 2023, he issued a statement on the band's website, saying: "I would just want to say on a personal note to anybody who is 65 and over, to please get inoculated for meningitis.." Reflecting on the timing, he added, "I was due to have my injection this coming January, so I was a bit unlucky, missing it by a few months.

"I will definitely be back as soon as humanly possible. Thanks for all the lovely messages and support from family, friends and fans. Big love." After being discharged, Earl focused on his recovery at home, with walking frames aiding his mobility, but he soon noticed his hearing had deteriorated.

He said, "While I was in the hospital, I woke up one morning and my hearing just changed, just on one side. I thought it would come back, it's like when you're in the plane and there's the pressure in your ears and everything. I was waiting for that moment, but it never happened."

Earl later discovered he had damaged the nerves connecting his brain to his ear, which resulted in impaired hearing and required him to use hearing aids. Not only has his hearing become "distorted", with a high pitch in his right ear and a lower pitch in his left, but music also does not "sound the same now".

"It's brutal because, being a musician, it distorts sound and makes things sound different," he said. "I'm a bass player and I've got certain tunes like Red Red Wine, one of our most famous tunes you've got six or seven chords in Red Red Wine, and then one of the chords when I'm playing, it just sounds wrong, like it's out of tune.

"I'm still on a journey trying to adjust and find different ways to try and get around the problem, but it's really messed my hearing up."

Despite the challenges, Earl, a father-of-five with 15 grandchildren, has returned to playing music and touring as UB40 marks its 45th anniversary. During his free time, Earl focuses on staying fit by going to the gym as frequently as he can.

Despite being told it may take two years to fully recover, Earl said he considered himself "lucky" and in light of World Meningitis Day on October 5, organised by the Meningitis Research Foundation, he urged individuals to get vaccinated: "One minute everything can be alright and the next minute you can be dead," he remarked.

"I've had near-death experiences just riding bikes and mountain biking but obviously I'm still here, I wasn't meant to go. My hearing's all over the place, but I'm still here and really lucky... and I'm just living every day as best I can."

The Foundation after World Meningitis Day is aiming to collect stories from 2,030 people around the globe for their campaign 'Meningitis in your words'. Further details are available here.