Axl Rose is recovering from surgery on his jaw.
The Guns N’ Roses frontman opened up about his health battle while performing in East Rutherford, New Jersey, as he told the audience he’d undergone an operation to help his temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ).
He said: “I had really crazy TMJ,. When I’m singing it’s kind of like somebody’s in my ear, like Bugs Bunny is eating in my ear, a carrot and celery and s*** is popping around. I had to do a tube. I had that done a couple of days ago.”
Axl, 64, added that the “left side of my mouth” is “still f****** numb”.
He sighed: “It gets interesting. It’s challenging.”
Despite the recent surgery, Axl still managed to play for three hours alongside his band, who are currently on the North American leg of their most recent tour.
According to the NHS, TMJ is “a condition affecting the movement of the jaw”.
Symptoms include a headache around your temples, “clicking, popping or grinding noises when you move your jaw” and your jaw locking when you open your mouth.
Other celebrity TMJ sufferers include LeAnn Rimes, Ashley Tisdale and Clay Aiken.
In a post on Instagram earlier this year, LeAnn wrote: “For as long as I can remember, my body has held tension like it’s been bracing for something. my jaw, my neck, my shoulders… especially the TMJ.
“It’s never really let go. and as someone whose voice is literally my instrument, that kind of tightness doesn’t just live in the body; it shows up in how I breathe, how I express, how freely I can sing.”
It’s not the first time Axl has battled through health issues to take to the stage.
In 2018, he said he had been struggling with stomach trouble, and told fans in Abu Dhabi: “They’ve got me on IVs and a bunch of injections, ‘cause I got sick today.
“I’ve been throwing up for about the last five hours.
“So, instead of canceling I’m gonna do the best show we can do for you.”
On that occasion, Axl was forced to end the show early.
