Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry was hospitalised last night after appearing onstage with Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden in New York. The guitarist had performed Walk This Way onstage with Joel before reportedly collapsing in his dressing room.
According to TMZ, paramedics attended to Perry for 40 minutes, placing a tracheal tube down his throat to clear his air path, before he was stretchered out of the venue and taken to a local hospital. In an update to their initial post, TMZ quote sources who say Perry has been having breathing difficulties "for the last few weeks."
In a statement, a representative of the guitarist says, "Following a guest performance during Billy Joel’s show last night at Madison Square Garden, Joe Perry experienced shortness of breath and was treated backstage by paramedics who gave the guitarist oxygen and used a tracheal tube to clear his airway before taking him to a hospital.
"This morning Perry remains in the hospital where he is alert and responsive. The Aerosmith guitarist will be unable to appear today at Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp in Florida and apologises to those attending. Perry is expected to return to the road later this month."
In July 2016 Perry was rushed to hospital after falling ill on stage with supergroup the Hollywood Vampires, with the band subsequently cancelling a planned appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
At the time, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler said, "I know my brother. He’s just about the only other guy that’s as passionate about his art as I am. He’s always asking me to do three, four shows in a row. I can’t – I’ll blow my voice out. I know how to maintain my career, my health. I don’t think he knows how to."
In August, Aerosmith confirmed a residency at the Park Theater at the Park MGM Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The first of 18 shows takes place in April.
