The Libertines’ Pete Doherty shared earlier this year that he had been warned he risked having his toes amputated and bandmate Gary Powell has now shared an update on his health
A bandmate of Pete Doherty has shared an update on his health. It comes following the news just months ago that the musician had been warned that he risked having his toes amputated if he didn’t change his lifestyle.
Pete, 46, revealed last year that he’d been diagnosed with type-2 diabetes and shared at the time that he had been warned about his diet. Earlier this year, he said he risked losing his toes after they turned black but more recently said they were “on the mend” after changing his diet.
Gary Powell, 55 – one of his bandmates in The Libertines – has now provided an update. He told the Sun: “Pete’s health is great. Mentally, he’s in a really good place. Physically, he’s getting fitter and stronger as the days go by.”
The drummer suggested that Pete is “happier now” than he’s been for some time. Gary said his bandmate’s luck has “changed,” adding that Pete now lives in France with his wife Katia de Vidas and their one-year-old Billie-May.
Gary went on to tell the outlet that you can see from Pete’s repertoire that he’s “changed”. He said that the singer has a “much happier demeanour” now, adding that that comes across in both his songwriting and his personality.
He said that Pete – whom he’s known for more than 20 years – is “completely positive”. Gary added that his bandmate isn’t “kowtowing” to “misconceptions” about who he should be as an artist in the music industry any more.
It comes following the news that Pete risked amputation. As reported in February, Pete told fans at a gig in Germany: “I saw the doctor today and he said you need to stay off your feet as much as you can otherwise you’ll lose your toes.”
He later shared an update on an episode of the Happy Place podcast, which was released in April. During a discussion with podcast host Fearne Cotton, it was revealed that Pete had started wearing orthopaedic shoes.
Pete told her: “I’ve got a bit of a feet thing going on at the moment. Diabetes toes. So the toes went really wrong. […] They went all black and then they were gonna have to come off, so I had to amend my diet and stop drinking. They’re kind of on the mend now.”
More recently, in an interview with the Sunday Times, published earlier this month, Pete said it had been “touch and go” over whether he would lose his toes. He was said to have lost feeling in his ‘extremities’ and didn’t notice sores on his feet until his toes went black back in January.
He told the outlet: “It was a real wake-up call.” He added: “Now I allow myself a gin and tonic once a week but I’ve basically not been drinking and have got my blood sugar to a good level, so my toes are healing.”
Pete went on to say that smoking “doesn’t help” though. He said in the interview: “If the inflammation gets too bad, you can lose your foot.”
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