Francis Rossi is too "scared" to have his septum repaired.
The Status Quo frontman is in constant pain because of the hole inside his nose, which was caused by his heavy drug use, but he won’t go under the knife to tackle the problem.
Asked if he regrets being so open about his drug use, Francis – who has been sober since the early 1990s – said: "No I don’t. I still do talks in schools and tell the kids that drugs make you feel fantastic and then this happens – and I get a cotton bud, stick it up one nostril, through the hole and bend it so it comes out the other nostril.
"I’m too scared to have the operation and get it repaired, so my nose is sore most of the time, it gets all dry and crusty.
"You wouldn’t want to see up it."
The 69-year-old rocker admitted drugs and alcohol turned him into a "d**khead" but he doesn’t believe he’d have turned to cocaine if he hadn’t been such a heavy drinker.
He said: "I became a d**khead. For me it was that manly thing – trying to prove something – and that’s not who I am.
"We were in a Mexican restaurant in Montreaux with Queen and everyone was shouting, ‘Have a drink’. So I drank six margaritas. Everybody started cheering so I did six more. That’s how I became a drinker.
"Then it was, ‘Have a toot.’ But I would never have taken cocaine if it wasn’t for drinking."
These days, that ‘Whatever You Want’ hitmaker leads a much quieter life with his wife Eileen.
He told MOJO Magazine: "I get annoyed when people talk about the rock’n’roll lifestyle. I think, ‘You mean being a d**khead?’
"You could say I’m OCD but that’s a current term. I’m just organised and regimented.
"I work out, I practise guitar every evening and do jigsaw puzzles. I don’t do them because I want to beat them but because they relax me.
"I’ll go and sit in the orangery with Eileen, with a fire going, Talking Pictures TV on and a puzzle on the go. Lovely."
Francis Rossi too ‘scared’ to have septum repaired
