Bring Me The Horizon performing at the BandLab NME Awards 2022. Credit: Jennifer McCord for NME

Bring Me The Horizon’s Oli Sykes suffers mild concussion after fan throws phone at his head during gig

He said the injury led to him “struggling a bit on stage because singing was putting a lot of pressure on the wound and making things feel disorienting”

by · NME

Bring Me The Horizon’s Oli Sykes has revealed that he suffered a mild concussion after a fan threw a phone at his head during a recent show.

The Sheffield metal icons were playing at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis as part of their ongoing US tour dates on Monday night (May 11), when someone in the audience threw a phone onto the stage – which hit him in the head.

As seen in fan-filmed footage from the show, the moment took place early on in the gig, when the band performed their 2015 track ‘Happy Song’. As he kneeled down at the front of the stage in one section, a phone is seen striking him in his left temple.

“Who the fuck just threw a phone at my fuckin’ head?” he asked, checking to see if he was bleeding.

Later footage from the night showed him frequently rubbing his temple in discomfort and seemingly struggling a bit at points as a result. The band also cut out the song ‘YOUtopia’ from the set and Sykes didn’t do his usual dive into the crowd like he usually does during ‘Drown’.

Taking to Instagram the following night, the frontman addressed the incident and revealed that it caused him to have a mild concussion.

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“Alright everyone – just wanted to let you know I’m all good. The phone to the head definitely smarted and I ended up with a mild concussion, but the swelling’s gone down a decent amount already,” he wrote.

“Last night I was struggling a bit on stage afterwards because singing was putting a lot of pressure on the wound and making things feel a bit disorienting while performing, so I’m sorry on my part for what may of seemed like a half hearted performance,” he added. “Appreciate everyone checking in and worrying about me though. Everything should be fine for tonight’s gig.”

Oli Sykes Instagram Stories screenshot. CREDIT: Instagram/@olobersykes

As he mentioned in his update, the band performed as scheduled in Kansas City last night (Tuesday May 12) and the rest of their North American tour dates are set to continue as planned. Shows also include a headline slot at Sonic Temple festival in Ohio on Saturday (May 16).

As well as embarking on their huge US tour, BMTH have recently announced two special shows for Manchester’s Outbreak – celebrating the 20th anniversary of their 2006 debut album ‘Count Your Blessings’.

They are also dropping a “reactivated” re-recording of ‘Count Your Blessings’ in July, which aims to make the record “sharper, heavier, and more vital than ever”.

The re-recording of their debut album comes on the heels of them bringing their “immersive” L.I.V.E. In São Paulo concert film to cinemas worldwide, releasing a ravey collab with Illenium called ‘Slave To The Rithim’, and Sykes launched a new live production company, Patient Zero.

Before then, Sykes spoke to NME at Reading Festival and revealed that 12 more songs could be dropping as part of the ‘Director’s Cut’ of their latest album ‘…Nex Gen’, however this could take a while now that he is the father of twins.

Over the weekend, the frontman also revealed why he routinely invites fans to sing with him on stage – recalling how inspired he felt after Funeral For A Friend asked him to do the same when he was a teenager.