Matt Healy turned to "cigarettes, coffee, drugs and women" to get through a "tough time".
The 1975 frontman admitted he struggled with life on the road before returning to the recording studio to work on the group's latest offering 'I Like It When You Sleep For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It', so needed "constant" stimulation, though he insists that doesn't make him a bad person.
Defending his lifestyle, he said: "Any dilemma I have is always met with a very British sense of not wanting to feel sorry for myself.
"I am aware that if a young frontman of a pop band, loved by millions of girls, starts feeling down or emotional, people think, 'Ah, f*** off mate.
"But I really had a tough time before this album. I needed to be constantly stimulated.
Whether it's cigarettes, coffee, drugs or women, I am always there and wanting. And I don't mean I am a misogynist or a sh*g bag d***head.
"By the end of the first album, we were the hardest-working band in the world but we were also exhausted and tired. And when you've been away from home and reality that long, you start finding comfort in other things."
Meanwhile, the 26-year-old rocker - who is the son of actress Denise Welch and actor Tim Healy - said he was worried about sounding like a "w***r" by writing songs and singing about the same stuff they did on their first record on their sophomore album.
In an interview with The Sun newspaper, he said: "Bettering myself, growing up and having self-awareness is an integral part of my music but I feared trying to write about what I did on the first record and coming across as a "w***r."
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