Musician Jimmy Buffett suffered a serious fall yesterday (Jan 26) after he was temporarily blinded by a set of on-stage flashing lights while performing at a concert in Sydney, Australia.
The 64-year-old singer, most famous for his songs “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and “Margaritaville” fell into the pit area directly in front of the stage, where he hit his head and suffered a massive cut, during the show’s finale at the Hordern Pavilion.
According to an audience member’s account of the incident (via TMZ), it appeared as though Buffett was unconscious for about 5 – 10 minutes and that he had a huge gash on his head.
Someone immediately called 911 and paramedics arrived within 15 minutes.
Check out the details (along with the video footage) below:
Sean Fogarty, who was also front and center, tells TMZ Jimmy was doing an encore at the end of the concert called “Lovely Cruise” and walking along the edge of the stage when the lighting person splashed “a huge flash of light” along the stage, making it impossible to see and he fell. Fogarty says the next thing he knew he heard Buffett’s head strike the metal on his way to the floor.
Another audience member who was close to the stage, tells TMZ a slightly different story …. that it looked as if Buffett was about to jump off the stage to shake hands when he misjudged the jump and fell. The audience member also says he saw Buffett’s head strike a metal strip on his way down. The light flash lasted 10 seconds and no one even knew Buffett had fallen until the flashing ceased.
Following the incident, the singer was transported to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, Australia, where he underwent several tests, including a CAT scan. The tests produced normal results and Buffet was placed under close observation until doctor’s gave him the okay to check out of the hospital.
Glad he wasn’t seriously injured!
