Rock legend Fish has disclosed how he almost died after a skin infection caused him to get blood poisoning twice but thankfully he lived to tell the tale

Marillion singer Fish has revealed he almost died – after suffering twice from blood poisoning caused by a skin infection.

The 62 year old rock legend said he was so ill his ambulance had to stop on its way to hospital to give him oxygen.

The Kayleigh singer – real name Derek William Dick – said he was just 40 minutes from being ‘critical’ and that if it had not been for the prompt action of his wife Simone in calling 999 he wouldn’t be here today.

Fish said that he first got sepsis in late 2018 after suffering from skin condition, cellulitis. He recovered but shortly afterwards became ill again.

“In the spring of 2019 I got sepsis again, good and proper,” he told Prog magazine. “It was twice within a space of three or four months and it was an ambulance with a blue light. The second time they had to stop halfway to give me oxygen.

“The guy said ‘Another 40 minutes and you’d have gone right into critical.’

“If my wife hadn’t phoned up…because the first time it made me delirious. She called and I was like ‘Awww, f*** off, I’m alright! Where’ve ye out my trousers! Blah blah blah…’ Off my face.

“The second time I was driving home and felt so tired I felt like I’d been driving all night. Then I went into convulsions, temperature went up to 40 degrees, I was freezing cold.

“And both times if she hadn’t phoned the ambulance I’d have been dead.”

Fully recovered now, the singer songwriter said the two incidents had been ‘traumatic’.

He said: “I’ve been scared in my life, but I was never as scared as sepsis.

The first time I had it I was like, ‘Okay, I’ve come through it, I can tick it off now.’ And then the second time was like, ‘What the f*** is happening?”

Marillon were a huge rock band in the Eighties and achieved eight Top Ten UK albums between 1983 and 1994, including a number one album in 1985 with Misplaced Childhood. Big hits included the singles “Kayleigh” and “Lavender”.

Fish fronted the band from 1981 to 1988 before going solo.