Engelbert Humperdinck recently shared memories from his stay in a sanatorium in 1961 during his podcast, “The Engelbert Humperdinck Show.” The 90-year-old singer discussed his time at Leicester’s Groby Road Hospital Sanatorium after being diagnosed with tuberculosis.
The treatment required him to remain on his back for about eight weeks without sitting up or doing anything strenuous. Each morning, he received a painful injection. Humperdinck described an unpleasant experience with a particular nurse. “There was one lady nurse who didn’t seem to like me,” he said, “she really hurt me with the injections, leaving big blue marks.”
Frustrated, Humperdinck planned a mischievous act. “I told my friend in the next bed, ‘I’ve got to get some rope,'” he recounted. After acquiring the rope, Humperdinck tied the nurse’s hands and placed her on an empty bed. When the doctor came around, he ignored the incident, but Humperdinck was in trouble afterward. As a result, he insisted on having a male nurse administer his injections, which improved the situation.
Humperdinck spent six months in the sanatorium following his diagnosis. The discovery came after he began coughing up blood during a concert in Manchester. Initially diagnosed with a throat infection, his mother demanded further tests. An X-ray confirmed tuberculosis, leading to his immediate hospitalization.
Reflecting on his recovery, Humperdinck shared a poignant memory. “Eight weeks later, after I became negative from the disease, my mother visited,” he said. “I asked if this place was great, as I remembered a priest spending an hour with me.” His mother revealed that the priest had given him the last rites, believing he had only three days to live.
Born Arnold George Dorsey, Humperdinck’s career took off in 1967 with the hit song “Release Me,” reaching No. 1 in the U.K. His official biography notes over 140 million records sold globally, four Grammy nominations, a Golden Globe for entertainer of the year, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.