Steve Harley health: Cockney Rebel singer’s condition made him want to ‘end life’

Steve Harley cut his teeth as a musician busking in the late 60s before forming Cockney Rebel with former folk music partner, Crocker, in 1972. The project gathered momentum throughout the early seventies, culminating in the release of the track “Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)”, which would go on to be a UK number one single in February 1975, and the band’s biggest selling hit. Steve is regarded as a prominent figure in the glam rock scene that emerged in the early 70s, but his musical success was far from certain.

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In his childhood the singer was struck down with polio, a serious viral infection.

Speaking to the Mail Online, the 70’s rock star recalled the chilling events that led up to his diagnosis.

Steve’s father was a semi-professional footballer in the 1940s and Steve, the second of five, was always kicking a ball.

In 1954, when he was three, it was noticed he was clumsy.

I kept stumbling. I ached, I was lethargic,” Steve revealed.

One night, as his dad went to check on him in bed, he noticed that Steve, who should have been asleep, was sweating profusely. His mum was quickly alerted to his condition.

The boy told them he could not feel his leg. It was numb. A GP was called. “She ran the points of scissors down my right leg and said, ‘Ambulance. Now,” recalled Steve.

It was revealed soon after that Steve had a particularly severe case of polio.

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This was only the beginning of Steve’s ordeal, however, as he would spend the next four years, on and off, in hospital getting surgery to correct the damage caused by the polio.

Steve said: “The surgeon put pins in my good knee to stop that leg growing so I’d become more even.

“This is not what you would wish on your worst enemy. I was 12, I was in hospital for a year, I wanted to end life. It was pain… even now I can’t describe it.”

According to the NHS, most people with polio don’t have any symptoms and won’t know they’re infected.

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But for some people, the polio virus causes temporary or permanent paralysis, which can be life threatening.

Long-term complications can include:

• Muscle weakness
• Shrinking of the muscles (atrophy)
• Tight joints (contractures)
• Deformities, such as twisted feet or legs

“There’s also a chance that someone who’s had polio in the past will develop similar symptoms again, or worsening of their existing symptoms, many decades later,” explained the NHS.

How you can get polio

According to the NHS you can become infected with the polio virus if you come into contact with the poo (faeces) of someone with the infection, or with the droplets launched into the air when they cough or sneeze.

You can also get the infection from food or water that’s been contaminated with infected poo or droplets.

Fortunately, polio no longer poses a risk in the UK because the vaccine used nowadays contains an inactive version of the virus.

How to treat it

There’s currently no cure for polio. Treatment focuses on supporting bodily functions and reducing the risk of long-term problems while the body fights off the infection, explains the NHS.

“This can include bed rest in hospital, painkillers, breathing support and regular stretches or exercises to prevent problems with the muscles and joints,” it adds.

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