Talia Dean: 'My back pain was misdiagnosed for 15 years - now I can't dance' By Lucy Wallis image copyrightDesmond Murray When singer-songwriter Talia Dean was 18 years old, she started experiencing the symptoms of a condition called axial spondyloarthritis - or axial SpA. But the condition has a tendency to be overlooked in women and it took more than 15 years for her to get a diagnosis. By this time, irreversible damage had been done to her spine. There is a moment of silence before the sound of drumsticks clicking together four times and the guitar begins its intro. Talia Dean stands smiling in front of an ivy-draped microphone in a purple dress and leather jacket and launches into Get Up - a pop-rock track produced by Queen guitarist Brian May, which took her band, Kings Daughters, to number 12 in the charts last year.