Britpop band Hurricane #1 to gig at a Dumbarton bowling club

Alex Lowe is bringing his iconic Britpop foursome Hurricane #1 to Brock Bowling Club not long after undergoing a kidney transplant that saved his life.

The veteran rocker was born with one kidney which began to fail following chemotherapy to battle a cancer diagnosis in 2013.

Then, in 2022, whilst recording the band's last album, Alex collapsed, getting rushed to hospital where doctors feared he was moments from death.

However, he is back touring again after his long-time friend Darren Inghram stepped into to offer his kidney, a move Alex describes as a “true miracle.”

And now he is looking forward to entertaining the Dumbarton public when he rocks up at Brock BC on April 20.

Speaking exclusively to the Dumbarton and Vale Reporter, Alex said: “My kidney function had gone down to two per cent and they did an emergency fistula operation so I could get dialysis, but they would have to wait six weeks while the fistula matured so they could start dialysis.

“They put a line through my neck and a stent down to my kidney to get dialysis done.

“I thought my life was over. It couldn't get any worse cancer. Now kidney failure, I should be dead, but here we are.”

Before adding: “I started dialysis in 2022 three days a week, I had no life and couldn't gig the way I wanted to.

“No touring, only a weekend gig here and there.

“But I got my head down and did it. I never complained. I just got on with it.

“Then, a true miracle happened. My good friend Darren came forward when no one else would, one year into dialysis and offered his kidney. I was over the moon, but there was a years’ worth of tests to be done on both of us.

“We weren't a match, but it worked due to our antibodies. We headed to Edinburgh on January 9, and the operation was on the 10th. Four hours after the operation, I woke up with a new kidney in me. I felt better straight away.”

Admitting he just “wants to play music,” Alex and fellow Hurricane members Jon Roberts, Stuart Fletcher and Chris Campbell will join local acts such as Scott Ashworth, Alaya Thomson and Richie Gallacher to play to a sold-out Brock.

Alex (right) with friend Ricky Rapa (Image: Supplied)

And it all came about thanks to Castlehill native Neil McClafferty, who struck up a friendship with Alex over years of being an avid Hurricane fan.

Neil explained it is a “massive coup” to get a band of this magnitude to “our wee town.”

He said: “My phone has not stopped. People enquiring about other things in the back of it.

“I think a lot of people are still asking if this is really happening.

“I am still pinching myself about it, but this is really good for the town, that we can attract these kinds of things to the town.

“We have a real musical community down here.”

Alex finished with his expectations of the local audience, noting he knows it is set to be a fun-filled evening of music and laughter.

He said: “I'm really looking forward to playing Dumbarton, a place I haven't played but has lots of music lovers, so it was a no-brainer.

“Being on dialysis for the last two and a half years put my music and life on hold and was an absolute nightmare but kept me alive.

“Now that I have my transplant, I'm itching to get back on the road and for what I was born to do, make and play music.”