The Australian-American singer Rick Springfield has revealed that he’s suffered brain damage. Not from any mishaps that have befallen him recently, but from a fall that took place in 2000.
The 75-year-old – best-known for his '80s hits Jessie’s Girl and Human Touch – was being interviewed by People magazine when he mentioned that it was only from having a full body MRI scan recently that he discovered the full effects of the fall that happened 25 years ago at a show in Las Vegas.
Springfield recalled that "I fell 25 feet, hit my head and then wood came down and hit my head, and then my head hit the stage again. I thought I had just broken my wrist, but on the scan I found out I have some brain damage from the fall, so I'm working on trying to repair that."
Other than that, Springfield said that he still feels like he’s in his 20s in his head. He works out, has cut down on his drinking and eats a largely pescatarian diet. He also – rather shockingly, given that he’s in his mid-70s – revealed that he’s recently been using ketamine and LSD as treatments for his depression.
"I wanted to see if [ketamine would] open a few things in my brain," he said. "It was a creative experiment and an experiment on depression. I did it for as long as suggested, and I wasn’t a big fan. It made me feel heavy and machinelike. It didn’t change much in me - although I have been writing a lot, so you never know what kind of effect it has later on. It’s not a black-and-white kind of thing."
"I did acid, and that was actually a little better," he suggested. "I hadn’t done that since I was in my 20s, but it was a great high. I don’t mean to push drugs on anyone, but I’m not averse to anything that helps me be happier and a better person. I could use some help in that area. I’m always searching. Wisdom comes with age is bullshit. Wisdom comes with digging and looking at yourself. It doesn't automatically come."
Springfield is still out there performing. Next week he’ll embark on the I Want My '80s tour, a nostalgia package tour that runs intermittently across North America until August. Also along for the ride are John Waite, Paul Young, Wang Chung and John Cafferty. Details can be found here.
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