SPECIALS STAR NEV’S BRUSHES WITH DEATH
THE Specials legend Neville Staple says he would be dead if it wasn’t for his wife.
The former star of the chart-topping two-tone band told how Christine helped him through a near-fatal car crash.
The accident left the ska icon with convulsions, seizures and epilepsy. His Mercedes was a complete write-off.
Neville, 61, says: “If it wasn’t for Christine Sugary Staple, I wouldn’t be here now.
“She has saved my life twice, firstly when I suffered a severe kidney infection and then by taking me to the right doctors who diagnosed and treated me for epilepsy and post-stroke symptoms.
“Her strength, determination and quick thinking is amazing.”
Jamaican-born singer Nev found fame with Coventry band The Specials in the late 1970s and 1980s.
They had seven smash hits including two number one singles Ghost Town and Too Much Too Young. Nev rejoined The GARRY BUSHELL Specials for their sell-out reunion shows in 2009 but just two years later almost lost his life in the road smash in Coventry.
He had just returned home from Jamaica where he buried his brother Jimmy.
Nev explained: “When I got back home I really needed some company and drove over to see my daughter Melanie.
“The next thing I remember was being lifted from my totally mangled Merc, with a policeman and an ambulance paramedic looking at me in total shock.
“They said they couldn’t believe I’d survived the crash.
“I was in and out of hospital and having convulsions and seizures all the time.
“Doctors said I’d suffered two strokes and they believe one of those was at the wheel of the car.”
Nev, who is back on the road with his own outfit The Neville Staple Band next month, had struggled with his health before the crash. He had undergone several knee operations “physically drained”.
He left The Specials after collapsing on stage and suffering seizures while alone in his hotel room.
He recalls: “Years of stomping about on stage, jumping from the rafters, climbing up PA systems and diving off as part of my stage act – along with the sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll – had really taken its toll on me.
“I was about to lose and was everything, including my last remaining property, the house I lived in. I had no one there to turn to.”
Singer Christine came back into his life at just the right time.
The pair met in 1979 and dated for 10 months before she ditched him due to bad behaviour.
But later she learned of his illness and rallied to his cause.
Nev explained: “She nursed me, took care of me and even sorted out my finances with letters and phone calls.
“Christine knew she was taking on a huge mess but stuck by me and showed me a love I had never felt from a woman before. This was real.”
The couple married in Jamaica two years ago and Nev is launching a new album next month.
He added: “Married life is sweeter than I ever imagined.
“I’ve been through hell but she takes me to heaven.”