Rocking Through Adversity: The Heart-Stopping Moment at Liverpool Festival and Stings Tribute to The Christians Drummer

On a Sunday evening, the On The Waterfront music festival in Liverpool was brought to a sudden halt when a member of one of the preceding bands suffered a cardiac arrest during their performance. Drummer for local band The Christians, Lionel Duke, collapsed early on in the band's set, leading frontman Garry Christian to call for medics to rush to his aid. A privacy screen was installed around Duke and his rescuers, with a notice put up on the festival’s screens reading, “We appreciate your patience and understanding. Medical staff are with the performer, and we will provide an update as soon as we can.” The crowd remained silent as responders worked to save his life. Eventually, a spokesperson addressed the audience, confirming to fans that while Duke had suffered a cardiac arrest, his heart had started beating again thanks to the quick intervention. “We’re really hoping he is going to make it,” she said. “He didn’t have a pulse, he’s got one now, we think. Thank you so much.” Duke's bandmates are said to have encouraged Sting, the frontman of the Police, to go on with his performance. When Sting finally started his set, he offered another update for the audience as he sent positive thoughts the musician's way: “The drummer in the band before is OK. He's in hospital. All of us are praying he's going to be fine. Our thoughts are with him.” As of writing, there have been no further updates about the drummer's condition. His band took to Facebook shortly after the show, sharing that they were "awaiting news from the Heart and Chest hospital at Broad Green" and sending their thanks to "the phenomenal team of medics present from On The Waterfront Liverpool team who stepped in so swiftly to help our poor Lionel." On Monday, June 23, they followed up to thank Sting "for his concern and beautiful tribute to Lionel," but have yet to share more information about their bandmate's status. The image accompanying this article is a photograph of Lionel Duke performing with The Christians at the On The Waterfront music festival in Liverpool before his sudden collapse.