Headbanging at city gig leaves wannabe rock star partially blinded

Published on Monday 7 July 2008 13:28

AN aspiring rock star has gone partially blind after headbanging too much at a gig.

Richard Allan, 21, felt his eyesight go blurry after his show on Friday night and assumed he had been dazzled by stage lights.

But the bass player had actually torn his retina as he jumped around the stage to his heavy metal tunes.

Now the wannabe rockstar, from Penicuik, Midlothian, faces emergency surgery and the possibility of wearing an eye patch.

He said: "I guess I do go a bit mental at gigs, we all leap about the place and headbang because we love our music, but I never thought it would make me start to go blind.

"I was at the bar after the gig and noticed things were blurry, and thought I'd maybe been looking at a light for too long.

"At hospital the next day they said I'd need an operation, which is a massive shock as I've never had a proper operation before. But I'm made of tough enough stuff to get through it."

The young musician played with his band The Day I Vanished at the Hive in Edinburgh before being taken to hospital.

Doctors diagnosed him with retinal detachment and told him his vision will deteriorate even after the operation.

The band are due to kick off a full UK tour this Friday, including some lucrative gigs in London – and Richard has vowed to battle through it, even if he has to be a lot calmer on stage.