Bernard Patrick “Doc” Neeson, the original singer of Adelaide pub rock act The Angels, has revealed that his brain cancer has returned. Neeson was first diagnosed with a brain tumour back in 2012, and was given only 18 months to live.
The 67-year-old Belfast-born vocalist’s first tumour was removed in 2013. Now, Neeson has told the ABC that an MRI scan conducted in February 2014 revealed that the tumour has returned, and that it may be life-threatening in the next three to six months.
“The news is grim, but some people can get through this, and that’s the way I try to think about things,” he said. “So I’m looking forward optimistically to the future.”
Speaking on his initial diagnosis back in 2012, Neeson explained, “It was a shock, of course, when somebody puts a use-by date on me, but I still hung on to a shred of hope that I’d get back on the stage at some point.”
2,000 friends and fans of Neeson gathered at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre in April this year, putting on a fundraising concert which featured performances from Jimmy Barnes, Peter Garrett and Angry Anderson. Three weeks after the concert, Neeson was presented with an Order of Australia by NSW Governor Marie Bashir.
The Angels formed back in 1974, and released albums under various names — The Angels, Angel City (In America), The Angels From Angel City, The Original Angels Band, and The Angels 2006. The group’s bassist, Chris Bailey, passed away in 2013 at age 62, from throat cancer.
Neeson recently released a new single, Walking in the Rain (below), his first new material in seven years.
Listen: Doc Neeson – Walking In The Rain
