Damon Albarn has opened up about his use of heroin at the height of Blur’s popularity, saying that the drug helped him to be “incredibly creative.”
Albarn had previously stated that he began taking the drug while dating Elastica singer Justine Frischmann, before eventually giving it up at the tail-end of the ’90s.
Speaking to Q Magazine, the Blur and Gorillaz frontman said: “I hate talking about heroin because of my family, but for me, it was incredibly creative. It freed me up… A combination of that and playing simple, beautiful, repetitive shit in Africa changed me completely as a musician. I somehow managed to break out of something with my voice. I can only say heroin was incredibly productive for me.”
When asked how he first started taking the drug, he replied: It’s what I found going on in the front room (when I was living with Justine). The telly was on, so I just thought: ‘Why not?’ I never imagined it would become a problem.”
He continued: “It turns you into a very isolated person. Ultimately, anything that you are truly dependent on is not good.”
He also stated that he was a heroin user “five days on, two days off” as he never took the drug on weekends.
Photo: Johnny Firecloud
