Peter “Blackie” Black of legendary Sydney punk band The Hard-Ons is in hospital suffering a fractured skull and bruising of the brain after being attacked earlier this week.
Black was driving his cab in Sydney when a 16-year-old male and a 14-year-old female attacked him. They were arrested on the scene.
A note on the band’s Facebook page says:
“None of it was his fault. The two assailants were arrested by police. Blackie has been in hospital since Thursday night with a skull fracture and 16 stitches, swelling on the brain. We will be there for a few days still, while the docs make sure all tests are done. Thankfully he has been moved from the critical room to where they keep stable patients. He does not remember all details but he is getting better every day. Not sure when he can play music again. We will know more in the coming days. He has already been told he cannot drive for 6 weeks due to his head trauma.
“Please send him a get-well message through facebook , he’ll read it all when he gets out in a few days. I’m sure he’ll get better soon. He is a pretty tough cookie. I’ve known him for many years and I know he wants to get back playing music again as soon as possible, but he will go with medical advice, it’s gonna be best to give playing live for a while, so that he can fully recover and come back fitter than ever. Will keep everyone posted. By the way thanks for all those messages. I’ll pass ’em on to Blackie and I’m sure he’ll really appreciate them.”
If you are in Sydney, there is a benefit show taking place at the Sando this Wednesday, May 23 featuring Mo Fkn Mayhem (Hell City Glamous), Marcus de Pasquale (Looking Glass), Simon Day (Ratcat) and Michelle Madden. The show kicks off at 8pm.
A Melbourne benefit show will also be organised in the near future.
The Hard-Ons formed in Sydney in 1981 and took their unique blend of punk and metal to the world. Their sound became the definitive sound of Sydney throughout the 80s and ensured they were considered pioneers of the great Australian scene that continues to this day.
Their most recent album is Alfalfa Males Once Summer Is Done, Conform or Die, released in 2010.
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