Wattie Buchan, frontman of The Exploited, suffers a heart attack on stage
The frontman of the Scottish punk band The Exploited, Wattie Buchan, was taken to hospital on Saturday night (December 10th) after he had collapsed whilst playing a show in Bogota, Columbia. The band had been performing at the La Estrella Roja Calle 66, and towards the end of the set, whilst playing ‘Army Life’, Buchan grabbed his chest and fell to the floor.
A spokesperson for the band said: “The last gig in Colombia, Wattie had another suspected heart attack. He tried playing on but had to actually stop a couple of songs until he eventually collapsed. He got taken away to hospital in an ambulance but over 900 people refused to leave the venue until he heard he was alright.”
The statement added: “The Exploited are held as idols over here, and Wattie is seen as the king of punk. He has kept the punk movement alive when everyone in the press said it was dead. He is actually a living legend.”
Fortunately, it looks as though Buchan is making a full recovery. He had, in fact, suffered a heart attack onstage before, back in 2014, in Lisbon, Portugal. Despite having a triple heart bypass, Buchan was again taken to hospital in Belgium in 2017 with another serious condition.
The band made an official statement on Facebook about the incident in Columbia, which read: “Yesterday, December 10th, 2022 during the end of the set Wattie collapsed on stage in Bogota, COL and was rushed into hospital by ambulance. Thankfully Wattie is feeling better now and is resting in a hotel in Bogota. We hope to be able to return safely home to the UK tomorrow.”
“Due to doctor’s orders all remaining shows for 2022 have been cancelled, including tonight’s performance in Cali, COL,” the statement continued. “We apologize to the fans, promoters and everyone affected by this situation. Thank you for understanding. Also our London show on the December 16th will also be cancelled. Once again we are sorry about this but Wattie is exhausted and told to cancel all upcoming gigs for this year.”
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