George Michael recalls pneumonia battle

Published Wednesday, 18 July 2012
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Doctors feared British singer George Michael had sustained brain damage after he began speaking with a "vaguely Bristolian accent" while fighting pneumonia last year.

George Michael recalls pneumonia battle

The former Wham! frontman was unconscious for three weeks as he fought for his life at a hospital in Vienna, Austria last November.

When he finally came to, doctors were left baffled after his London twang was seemingly replaced by a brogue from England's West Country.

He tells London radio station LBC: "My doctors were genuinely worried that I had this condition, it's a genuine thing where people wake from comas speaking French or some other language they learned at school.

"Mine was two days of this vaguely Bristolian accent, and they were worried I could have spoken like that for the rest of my life. They were saying: 'Oh my God, he's got brain damage.' Not that there's anything wrong with the West Country accent - but it's a bit weird when you come from North London."

However, Michael admits his "bizarre" accent gave his worried relatives some much-needed comic relief during his health scare.

He adds: "My sisters were so relieved that I had woken up, they were just laughing away at me talking in this weird accent. My doctors were worried, but I was not quite conscious enough to know what I was doing. It was just an unfortunate coincidence. I scared everyone when I woke up because I basically did two days' worth of stand-up comedy based on (British sitcom) Nighty Night in this bizarre West Country accent."

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