Chris Burney, the former guitarist of Bowling for Soup, is opening up about his health struggles, revealing that he recently lost two of his toes. A month after announcing his retirement from the band he co-founded in 1994 due to health issues, Burney shared a candid update on Instagram on February 19. The 55-year-old musician posted a photo of his foot missing both his big toe and second toe, captioning it, “I’m a Free-nubbin, butt-rubbin son of a gun.”
Along with the photo of his foot, Burney included a picture of his dog and a playful selfie of himself sticking his tongue out.
Although Burney didn’t specify how he lost his toes, the post follows an eventful year for the guitarist. In June 2023, he was forced to miss Bowling for Soup’s performance at the Firenze Rocks Festival in Italy due to health issues. The band later confirmed that Burney had been hospitalized but was in good spirits, receiving top-notch care. Shortly afterward, Burney missed the band’s performance at the 2024 Download Festival.
A few weeks after his hospitalization, Burney shared a photo on Instagram showing his bandaged foot and a t-shirt featuring an image of a severed toe on a gravestone, accompanied by the message, “Gone but never forgotten.” Though he didn’t provide further details about his health, he kept the post lighthearted, writing, “left out the nasty bits in order to keep this classy and threw in a bit of Tater Tot/nut punch booty.”
In the following months, Burney revealed he had lost his big toe, but at the time, he still had his second toe. By January 2024, Burney officially announced his retirement from Bowling for Soup after 30 years with the band, citing ongoing health issues as the primary reason.
The band shared a statement, saying, “It is with a heavy heart we announce that Chris Burney has made the decision to retire from his stage-right post in the band he co-founded in 1994. Some recent medical developments, 30 years of rocking balls and touring non-stop have made it difficult to continue. We are bummed to not have Chris by our sides, but absolutely support his decision.”
Burney co-founded Bowling for Soup in Wichita Falls, Texas, alongside Jaret Reddick, Lance Morrill, and Erik Chandler. The band rose to fame after releasing their 2002 album Drunk Enough to Dance, and their most recent album, Pop Drunk Snot Bread, dropped in 2022. Known for hits like “Girls All the Bad Guys Want,” “1985,” and “Almost,” Bowling for Soup remains a staple of pop-punk culture.
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