Babyshambles Bassist Undergoes Emergency Spinal Surgery

Drew McConnell, the bassist for Pete Doherty's Babyshambles as well as as solo artist in his own right, was forced to cancel a gig last night (May 24) after being rushed to the hospital for what is being described as "emergency spinal surgery."

The NME reports that McConnell was scheduled to perform at Horror Show in Bethnal Green, but the event was canceled after he was admitted. A Facebook post from the promoter explains, in part: "Really late notice but we have terrible news... Drew McConnell has just been rushed into hospital, He is having to have emergency spinal surgery. so I'm afraid that we have had to postpone ... I'm really sorry to let you down."

The article goes on to explain that McConnell also ended up in the hospital last summer, when he was involved in a driving accident that left him with broken ribs and injuries to his spine, knee and shoulder. The report doesn't elaborate on whether or not McConnell's current medical woes are related to complications from that incident; at the time, Babyshambles' manager described him as "comfortable but if a little pained" and chalked the accident up to "a nasty couple of bumps."