Graham Coxon felt "resentful" towards fans at the height of Blur's success.
Graham Coxon
The 52-year-old musician admits he was overwhelmed by fame and success in the 90s, and he reached a point whereby he'd simply "had enough" of being in the band.
He shared: "There was nothing worse for me, in 1998, [than] going on stage and feeling resentful to the audience. It wasn’t a very nice feeling.
"I spent a lot of my twenties going from this very quiet, anxious, brooding person to, within an hour, being completely different and difficult to handle and not knowing quite why. I’m a lot better now because I can see it in action.
"I can see how I’m wired and how easy it is for the template in my brain to click to default and be exactly as I was at seven, 18, or 21."
Graham was dealing with undiagnosed anxiety at the time and he ultimately turned towards alcohol to help ease his pain.
The music star ended up in rehab, before leaving the band - but he thinks his struggles would be dealt with in a more sensitive way these days.
He told The Independent: "Thirty years ago, nobody was saying, ‘This is anxiety.'
"I was drinking a lot because that was the only thing that knocked off the anxiety, but then I just couldn’t stop. Then I’d get a hangover which made me anxious all over again.
"No one then was as obsessed with mental health as they are now. It was a bit like, 'Buck up, you idiot. What’s the matter with you?' A slap on the back if you’re lucky and ‘Get out there and get on with it.'"
Tagged in Blur Graham Coxon