1980s music icon Paul Young has opened up about a terrifying accident that left him in intensive care, requiring three emergency blood transfusions and months of recovery after suffering multiple leg fractures during a holiday in Santorini, Greece.
The “Wherever I Lay My Hat” singer revealed the ordeal happened just 24 hours into the trip, after he slipped and fell down a flight of outdoor steps at his five-star hotel, De Sol Hotel and Spa.
“I Just Thought, ‘I’ve Lost Control’”
Speaking candidly to the Daily Mirror, Young said:
“It had been spitting with rain… when I got to the top of the steps, as soon as I put my foot on the first step, my leg slipped out from underneath me. I fell and my leg cracked as soon as I hit the step. Once I’d gone down, I couldn’t stop. There was no handrail, so nothing to hold on to. I just thought, ‘I’ve lost control’.”
The fall resulted in multiple fractures to his left femur, the largest bone in the body, with damage located near the hip joint. He described the moment he realised the severity of the injury:
“I looked down and my leg was in a slightly weird position, underneath my bottom. I thought, ‘I don’t like that’.”
Nine Hours in Agony
Young’s wife, Lorna, rushed to alert hotel staff, and he was taken to Santorini General Hospital in Karterados, where limited medical resources meant he endured nine hours on a gurney in a hospital corridor with only paracetamol for pain relief.
“I was screaming out all the time… most of the time I had my eyes shut because the pain was terrible,” he said.
Due to the lack of surgical facilities on the island, Young was flown to Athens, where he underwent emergency surgery to insert a metal rod into his femur. Doctors warned that the close proximity of the fractures posed a high risk of his leg snapping completely.
Blood Loss and Delirium
Following surgery, Young suffered significant blood loss, leading to three transfusions. He described being semi-delirious and frightened, unable to understand medical staff speaking Greek.
“For the first few days, there was so much blood loss, they were changing the sheets every day… I didn’t know what they were saying. It was a frightening time.”
He remained in hospital in Greece for two weeks before returning to the UK, where he spent additional time recovering at London’s Cleveland Clinic.
Setback After Recovery Progress
Though Young was gradually rebuilding his strength, a major setback came in November when a bolt in the metal rod snapped, forcing him to undergo another 10-hour operation.
“I’d just started to feel like I was getting better… then I woke up one morning in agony,” he said. “I thought, ‘Why aren’t the painkillers working?’”
Despite the long and painful road to recovery, Young says he is now “fighting fit and ready”, and continues his rehabilitation with renewed determination.
Fans have flooded social media with messages of support for the singer, whose music defined a generation and who continues to inspire with his resilience.
