LONDON, Dec 16 (AFP) - The singer of the British pop group Erasure has said he is HIV-positive.
Following a news report printed in Finland on Wednesday, Andy Bell made a statement on the band's website revealing he has known for more than four years that he had the disease, which causes AIDS.
"I found out I was HIV-positive in June 1998 when I had a bout of pneumonia in Mallorca. Since then I have been taking combination therapy and I am feeling fine, in fact I have never felt better," he said in the statement.
"Being HIV[-positive] does not mean that you have AIDS. My life expectancy should be the same as anyone else's, so there is no need to panic," he said.
Bell, 40, is one of the few British celebrities to admit being HIV-positive. He follows Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Holly Johnson, who revealed his illness in 1993 and continues to live in London.
Freddie Mercury, the famed frontman for the British group Queen, died of AIDS in 1991, only days after admitting to suffering from the disease.
Bell formed Erasure with band member Vincent Clarke in 1985, turning out a signature sound heavy on synthesizer and catchy dance beats.
Top singles including "A Little Respect", "Sometimes" and "Ship of Fools" helped push five of their albums into Britain's number-one slot.
A new Erasure album, "Nightbird", will be released in January ahead of a European tour the following month.
Bell's partner of the past 20 years, Paul Hickey, will discuss the singer's HIV condition in a book he is writing due out next year.
Bell also said he had recently had a double hip replacement but said he was "in better shape now than he has been for some time".
041216
AF041278
©AFP 2004.. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission. http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Bridgestone Firestone Trust Fund, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2004. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
©1990, 2004 - AEGiS. AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.
