Engelbert Humperdinck has described his 1961 stay at Groby Road Hospital Sanatorium in Leicester, England, after he was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Recalling the experience on an episode of his podcast, “The Engelbert Humperdinck Show,” the singer said he spent six months at the facility and was required to remain lying down for weeks.
Humperdinck said the treatment included a daily injection that he found painful. He recalled asking staff to assign a different nurse, but said his requests were not granted. He described having bruises after the injections and said he eventually decided to retaliate.
According to Humperdinck’s account, he and a patient in a neighboring bed obtained rope. He said he grabbed the nurse during a morning visit, bound her hands behind her back, placed her in an unoccupied bed and covered her. He recalled that the doctor noticed what had happened during rounds but continued on without intervening at that moment.
Humperdinck said he later faced consequences, but the nurse did not give him another injection. He said a male nurse took over the task and that the treatment was easier for him.
He also recounted how the illness was identified. Humperdinck said he began coughing up blood while performing at a concert in Manchester. A doctor initially described the problem as a severe throat infection, according to the singer. His mother, concerned by the blood, pressed for an X-ray. Humperdinck said he was told within about an hour of the scan to gather his belongings because he had tuberculosis and would be transferred to the sanatorium.
In his account, Humperdinck said that after eight weeks he was told he had tested negative for the disease. During a visit, he asked his mother whether the hospital was a good place, recalling that a priest had spent an hour with him when he was admitted. His mother told him the priest had been administering the last rites. Humperdinck said he had been given three days to live.
Humperdinck was born Arnold George Dorsey. His career breakthrough came in 1967 with “Release Me,” which reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom. His official biography says he has sold more than 140 million records worldwide, received four Grammy nominations and a Golden Globe for entertainer of the year, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
