Madonna: ‘I Could Die Onstage’

Pop superstar MADONNA suffers from severe anxiety attacks onstage – and fears she may one day die during a concert.

The Material Girl – who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York on Monday night (10Mar08) – suffers from crippling pre-gig nerves and takes extreme action to reduced the attacks.

She says, “I have moments where I feel incredibly invincible and know that I have the audience in my hand – I know that everything is absolutely perfect.

“And then I have panic attacks where I feel like everyone is breathing my air and I cannot live up to everybody’s expectations and I might just die on stage.

“I normally try to turn my back to the audience, take a deep breath and remind myself that it’s all temporary. I’m not worried about f**king up – I really have a panic attack that everyone else is breathing my air. It’s hard to describe.

“When you have panic attacks you cannot rationalize them. Obviously there’s enough oxygen for me but it never happens outdoors, it’s normally in indoor sports arenas that feel very close when suddenly I feel claustrophobic.

“It’s not a fear of performing.”

(LJ/WNTSU/JC)