Graham Coxon felt like he “didn’t deserve” to have a good time after shooting to fame with Blur.
The 53-year-old guitarist rose to prominence with the Britpop band in the 1990s but he struggled with anxiety and alcohol addiction and admits he just didn’t enjoy life as a chart-topping musician despite all his bandmates seeming to have a good time.
He told The Idler magazine: “I get annoyed with myself because it could have been fun if I’d allowed myself to have fun. The thing is, you don’t really know what you’re signing up to …
“I just didn’t allow myself to have fun. Maybe I felt like I didn’t deserve it. Maybe I was tired and emotional or maybe I just clashed with the politics. It was confusing.”
When asked about Blur’s bandmate Alex James, who has previously admitted he made the most of the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle, Graham added: “He probably did it right. He probably thought, ‘I’m twenty-odd, this might last three years, I’m gonna have a good a time as I can’. And why not?
“Everybody else in the history of pop music did the same. I don’t think people like Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood and all them lot were acting like I did.”
Graham went on to talk about his mental health battle, insisting topics like anxiety and depression just weren’t really talked about 30 years ago.
He added: “These days it’s a lot easier because people talk about mental health. But back then no one talked about this stuff.”
Graham has now been sober for eight years and he’s undergone “mega therapy” to help deal with his demons.
