A trip to the gym has had very dire repercussions for Silverchair drummer Ben Gillies, who is suing after a serious injury has allegedly left him unable to play his instrument at the level he was once able to.

As reported by The Herald Sun, Gillies is suing Melbourne Health and Fitness over an alleged incident that occurred in 2014, in which personal trainer Jeremy Strong is accused of insisting that the drummer continue a bench press exercise despite his belief that the weight was “too heavy”, and even increased the weight despite the protests.

Making matters worse, this was Gillies’ first time at the gym, and he argues that Strong should have taken much better care of his trainee, especially during an initial session.

The exercise resulted in serious injury to Gillies’ right shoulder, leading to the 37-year-old being unable to drum at all for eight months due to a list of gruesome complaints including a torn supraspinatus tendon, inflammation and necrosis of the supraspinatus muscle, and scarring.

Along with a loss of function of the shoulder joint, Gillies also claims that the injury led to anxiety and depression in the months and years that have followed, and that he needed to refuse appearances on the Australian versions of Celebrity Apprentice and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! as a result of the combined effects of the injury.

Most importantly, his lawyers claim that the injury has severely hampered both him drumming skill, and his ability to embark on an extended tour.

“It is unlikely, given the nature of his injury, that (Gillies) will ever achieve pre-injury level of drumming skills to enable him to tour or return to his previous ability,” their statement reads.

“(Gillies) experiences severe pain and fatigue in his shoulder after drumming and, notwithstanding the deterioration in his skills, would not be able to undertake the gruelling demands a lengthy tour requires.”

He is suing for as-of-yet unspecified damages due to the lost income from the television appearances and potential touring either on his own or with his former band.

Despite the injury, Gillies is currently signed to Golden Robot Records, and intends to release a solo album this year.

YouTube VideoPlay

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine