Peter Black (aka Blackie), guitarist with cult Australian punk band The Hard-Ons has been hospitalised after a brutal assault.
The attack took place while Black was driving his taxi cab. Two teenagers (whom, according to reports are aged 14 and 16) were arrested at the scene.
The band have posted the following message on their facebook page:
“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.”
The band, active since the mid 80s, released their 15th album in 2010. Despite such a huge back catalogue, outside of their native Australia, they remain best known for their cover of AC/DC’s ‘Let There Be Rock’ with Henry Rollins and their 1990 LP ‘Yummy’.