Dee Snider has opened up about the serious health challenges that ultimately forced him to withdraw from TWISTED SISTER’s planned 2026 50th-anniversary tour.
Speaking on the Beardo & Weirdo podcast, hosted by Chris Kael of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and comedian Craig Gass, the legendary frontman detailed how a combination of physical injuries, heart concerns, and a heartfelt plea from his family pushed him toward stepping away from performing.
According to Snider, the first wake-up call came from his surgeon, who made it clear that decades of high-energy performances had taken a severe toll on his body.
“First of all, becoming face-to-face with mortality,” he said. “And as the doctor said to me, ‘Dude, you’re great, amazing for a 71-year-old. But you can’t do that anymore. You’re done. Your body parts are worn out, and you got nothing left.’ And the funniest thing [was] when the surgeon looked at my X-ray, [he said], ‘Do you jump around much?’ ‘Yeah. That’s kind of what I do.’ He goes, ‘Yeah, well, you’re done.'”
The singer initially hoped that a hip replacement could buy him more time on stage. However, further examinations revealed a more serious problem: dangerous hypertension and previously undetected heart issues.
At that point, Snider said his family stepped in and urged him to reconsider continuing to perform: “And my family literally had to sit down with me and pretty much begged me to stop. And basically, my kids, they’re, like, ‘Why are you doing this? What do you got to prove? It’s not a financial thing for you. You’ve got everything that you ever dreamed of, everything you wanted. It’s pure ego.’”
Snider also jokingly blamed IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson for briefly giving him hope that he could return to full performance form after surgery.
He explained: “Also — I blame Bruce Dickinson. I’m blaming Bruce Dickinson because when I found out that my hip was shot, I get a call from Bruce. I hadn’t spoken to him since the Powerslave tour. And he reaches out to say, ‘Dee,’ he said, ‘I’ve had it done twice.’ He goes, ‘And I’m back in action.’ And I said, ‘You’re back in action?’ Now mind you, I think Bruce is 10 years younger than me. I said, ‘You’re back in action?’ He says, ‘Yeah, man. I’m thrusting, I’m parrying.’ I said, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. What about the band?’ ‘Oh, yeah, the band too. But I’m fencing, man.’ All he cared about was that he was still thrusting and parrying. But when I heard him say, ‘Okay, back in action a hundred percent,’ I was, like, ‘All right, I could do this.’”
After undergoing hip surgery, Snider attempted to test himself onstage during a guest appearance with Lita Ford, similar to past guest spots he had performed with Bret Michaels. But the trial run quickly turned into another painful setback.
“And that’s when I was going for the surgery that I found out that I had a heart issue that I did not know about,” he said. “And that was when they pulled the rug out from under me. And then I still — like an a**hole — so I got the hip. It was better. I’m, like, ‘You know what? I’m going out there. I wanna test it out.’ Lita Ford had asked me to do a few songs with her, like I used to do with Bret [Michaels] and stuff.”
Snider continued: “So I go up there on stage and I walk out on stage and I’m going, ‘Damn, this thing feels good.’ I’m thrusting and I’m parrying — bounce, bounce, bounce, and the knee goes. Three bounces — knee goes. And I’m, like, ‘Whoa. Son of a bi**h.’ And I’m just hearing that surgeon going, ‘You’re done. You’re done. You’re done.’”
Snider’s departure earlier this year led to the cancellation of TWISTED SISTER’s planned 2026 reunion dates. However, the band later revealed that Sebastian Bach will step in to front the band for a handful of select shows later this fall.
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