JOHN Illsley – Dire Straits bassist, 120 million albums sold, 1,100 weeks spent in the album chart and now leukaemia survivor.
Any fan would be able to reel off many facts and figures about the rocker – but the last is likely to prove a surprise.
That’s because for 15 years he hid his cancer battle from everyone including close family and band mate Mark Knopfler.
But today John is cancer-free and he wants to share his story to help change lives.
The 65-year-old, who owns the East End Arms in Lymington where he lives, says: “I consider myself an extremely fortunate man.
I am grateful to be here, every day and it has taught me a lot about myself. It changes your perspective on life.
“I want people to know it’s not necessarily a death sentence.”
After Dire Straits broke up in 1995, John moved to the New Forest with partner, Stephanie.
But just four years later, the year he married Stephanie and turned 50, life changed dramatically.
“I’ve had a reasonably hectic life, so I decided it was about time to check that everything was OK by going for a health check.”
When the results came back, there was something that stood out – the doctor asked if he had recently been ill as his white blood cell count was high. He hadn’t.
A week later, he underwent a bone marrow biopsy which revealed devastating news – he had chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), cancer of the blood.
“I remember sitting in the doctor’s office with my wife being told that I had cancer. I asked for the bottom line and bluntly the doctor said I probably had ten years left.
“I have to say that brought me up quite short.
“I wasn’t going to give into it. I was going to fight it. I didn’t know much about it – but I knew that much.”
John asked to be referred to the late Professor Terry Hamblin, a consultant at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, who was one of the first to appreciate the role of stem cell transplants in the 1980s.
He began to monitor John until it was discovered he had an extra chromosome which made him especially susceptible to the advances of leukaemia.
In July 2012, chemotherapy began – the same year he took to the stage of the Shepherd’s Bush Empire with the rest of the band to belt out some Dire Straits classics.
The fans and even his fellow band members had no idea he was undergoing a round of chemotherapy every month for three months.
“It was my way of coping. I didn’t want it to become a topic of conversation.
I felt that I had it reasonably under control”, he says.
Instead of being defined by his diagnosis of leukaemia, John turned to the things he loved – his four children, painting, and producing more music.
But six years after the chemotherapy, John became so unwell he struggled to even climb stairs.
It was then he told his family and close friends including Mark Knopfler.
The only option for a cure was a stem cell transplant, in which strong chemotherapy drugs are used to kill off the patient’s own bone marrow before being replaced with stem cells taken from a donor’s blood and marrow.
John’s sister, Pat, wanted to help.
Tests revealed she was the perfect match and she was able to give John the ultimate gift.
In January 2011, John was admitted to The London Clinic and was even weaker – the transplant was his last chance of survival.
The transplant is an intravenous infusion where the cells come to rest in the bone marrow where they start to reproduce. Suitable patients have a 50 per cent chance of being cured.
It meant John faced four weeks in hospital including an agonising wait to see if the transplant worked.
But testament to his determination not to be defined by the illness, John put that time to good use.
John, who is headlining at The Brook in Southampton on Saturday with his new album, Testing the Water, decided he would not let the leukaemia beat him.
“I asked if I could take in my guitar and my sketch books.
“I played that guitar every day in there. It gave me a focus away from all the other stuff.
“I had drips in me 24 hours a day for about a month. Every hour somebody would come in to take this and do that, fiddle around with this. “Amongst all that, the music just kept me absolutely centred. It was quite remarkable.
“One of the songs, Railway Tracks is specifically about being in there.
I also wrote Darling Heart and Run for Cover in there.”
The transplant was a success and John was this year given the news that there is no trace of cancer remaining.
But though John, who lost his hair, is now clear, he is determined others get help.
“Men of my generation – we stumble through life, rarely thinking of our health, never getting ourselves checked. We should. Go to your doctor. Ask for a test. It costs nothing, just 15 minutes of your time. It could mean anything.”
He also hopes his story will raise awareness for Anthony Nolan, the UK’s blood cancer charity and bone marrow register.
“I know how lucky I have been in finding a tissue match within my family.
“There are thousands of others who rely on the kindness of strangers for this life-saving treatment.
“You can offer your stem cells to somebody you don’t know. You can help them have a life just by lying on a bed for three or four hours. It’s extraordinary.”
Today John is touring the world playing music and he has never been happier.
“I’m a different man today.
“It makes you realise life is precious and you should do what makes you happy so I do lots of painting and I play music.”
Donor Factfile
Every year around 2,000 people in the UK need a transplant.
This is usually their last chance of survival.
Two thirds of UK patients won’t find a matching donor in their families.
There are currently only suitable donors for 60 per cent who need one. For more information and to sign up to the life saving donor register see anthonynolan.org
Tour details
The multiple Brit and Grammy awardwinning musician will bring his Testing the Water tour to The Brook, Southampton, this Saturday.
The former Dire Straits bass player and his band will perform a career-spanning set including songs from the new album.
For information go to the-brook.com or see johnillsley.com
