Retired Rocker Reveals He Lost 2 Toes: Bowling for Soup Guitarist Chris Burney Says He’s ‘Free-Nubbin’

Former Bowling for Soup guitarist Chris Burney is getting candid about his health, revealing that he recently lost two of his toes. A month after “recent medical developments” forced the rocker to announce his retirement from the band he helped form in 1994, Burney shared a photo to Instagram Wednesday showing his foot missing his big toe and his second toe.

“I’m a Free-nubbin, butt-rubbin son of a gun,” the legendary ’90s rock star, 55, captioned the post. Along with a photo of his foot, the post also included a picture of Burney’s dog and a selfie with Burney sticking his tongue out.

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A post shared by Chris Burney (@soupbowlerchris)

Burney did not reveal how he lost his toes, but the Feb. 19 post comes eight months after Burney was forced to pull out of Bowling for Soup’s performance at the Firenze Rocks Festival in Florence, Italy. In a statement shared on June 13, the band revealed that their guitarist had been “taken to the hospital and will not be able to perform today.” The group added that Burney was “in the best hands Italy has to offer and is in good spirits.”

Less than two weeks later, Burney, who also missed the group’s performance at the 2024 Download Festival, returned to Instagram to share a gallery of images that included a photo of his bandaged foot, as well as a picture of a t-shirt with a photo of a severed toe on a gravestone with a message reading, “Gone but never forgotten.” He did not provide further information on his health crisis, instead writing in the caption, “left out the nasty bits in order to keep this classy and threw in a bit of Tater Tot/nut punch booty.”

Burney revealed the following month that he’d lost his big toe. At the time, he still had his second toe. Then, in January, Bowling for Soup announced that Burney would be retiring after 30 years with the group due to ongoing health issues.

“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,” the group said. “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 formed Bowling for Soup in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1994 alongside Jaret Reddick (lead vocals/guitar), Lance Morrill (drums), and Erik Chandler (bass). Morrill would exit the group in 1994, with Chandler departing in 2018. The group gained traction following the release of their 2002 album Drunk Enough to Dance, and has since gone on to release numerous other albums, their most recent, Pop Drunk Snot Bread, dropping in 2022. The group is best known for hits like “Girls All the Bad Guys Want,” “1985,” and “Almost.”