{"id":57924,"date":"2026-02-12T13:41:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:41:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/12\/slade-drummer-recalls-life-changing-car-accident-i-died-twice\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T13:41:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:41:33","slug":"slade-drummer-recalls-life-changing-car-accident-i-died-twice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/musicianvoice.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/12\/slade-drummer-recalls-life-changing-car-accident-i-died-twice\/","title":{"rendered":"Slade Drummer Recalls Life-Changing Car Accident: ‘I Died Twice’"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Slade<\/a> drummer Don Powell has shared insight on his life-changing car accident.<\/p>\n

It was the early morning of July 4, 1973 when the rocker was severely injured in a crash near his home in Wolverhampton, England. At the time, Slade was the biggest band in Britain, having scored five No. 1 singles on the U.K. chart. Powell and his fiance were both ejected from the vehicle in the accident. She died instantly, but the drummer miraculously survived.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve still got no idea what happened,\u201d Powell confessed during a recent appearance on the Rockonteurs<\/a> podcast. \u201cWe were both, myself and my girlfriend, were thrown out of the car, and my girlfriend had already died, and I was about to die, just as two nurses happened to be coming by on duty. It was about one o’clock in the morning, and my head was split open, and the nurse had to push my head back together.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>32 Rockers Who Defied Death<\/a><\/p>\n

The second nurse rushed to a nearby home and used their phone to call for an ambulance. Once at the hospital, surgeons had to drill into Powell\u2019s skull to release pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cApparently I died twice,\u201d the rocker remarked. \u201cBut they brought me back.\u201d<\/p>\n

After six days in a coma, Powell awoke. Though he lost all sense of smell and taste, he managed to regain function of all of his extremities. Relearning how to drum wasn\u2019t easy, especially given Powell\u2019s memory loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was hard, because like, I couldn’t remember anything,\u201d he admitted, recalling how he couldn\u2019t remember how to play Slade\u2019s holiday hit \u201cMerry Xmas Everybody.\u201d \u201cWe got on stage to try to do an encore. We’ll go on and do \u2018Merry Christmas.\u2019 I said, \u2018How does it go? How does it go? Sing it to me, how does it go?\u2019 I couldn’t remember anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don Powell Reconnected With the Nurse That Saved His Life<\/h3>\n

For years, Powell tried in vain to find the nurses who saved his life, \u201cjust to say thank you.\u201d Eventually, a news reporter was able to link him with one of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI managed to speak to her on the phone,\u201d the drummer recalled. \u201cI said, I believe there was two of you there. She said, \u2018Yes, there was my friend. She got married and moved out of the area, so we haven’t seen each other for many years.\u2019 I said, but what I wanted to say\u2026 was just to say thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

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30 Rockers Who Died Before 30<\/h2>\n
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Many had their lives cut short by bad luck, addiction or their personal actions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Gallery Credit: Corey Irwin<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n