Brett Anderson says it’s a myth that drugs make you more "creative".
The Suede frontman was addicted to heroin and later crack cocaine in the early 90s, and he believed back then that taking hallucinogenic drug LSD enabled the band to "push boundaries" with their music.
However, in hindsight, as a clean 50-year-old man, he admits that that wasn’t the case.
In an interview with The Times newspaper, the ‘Animal Nitrate’ hitmaker said: "People think drugs are a creative force because so many creative people have used drugs, but it is a misunderstanding.
"Creative people have inquisitive minds and they’re drawn toward these things, but it hasn’t actually made anyone more productive or creative."
Anderson – who is married to naturopath Jodie, with whom he has a 14-year-old step-son and six-year-old son – says that instead of writing about relationships and debauchery, his "muse" now is his young son.
He continued: "Personally, I think there are always interesting things to write about, and my life is no longer chaos. It can be charming to be 12 and lead a crazy life.
"To be a 50-year-old man and still sleeping on people’s floors would be disastrous, so I look for Inspiration in smaller things. For years, my muses were lovers and friends. Now my muse is my son."
The ‘Trash’ singer was addicted to crack until 1999, when a close friend died, and he’s been clean ever since.
Speaking in 2003, Anderson talked about the different concept he had of how substances can improve productivity and creativity.
Reflecting on their 1994 LP ‘Dog Man Star’, Anderson said at the time: "I was doing an awful lot of acid at the time, and I think it was this that gave us the confidence to push boundaries. It kind of shows, doesn’t it?"
Anderson admitted that he was an "absolute tit" when he was on drugs and "constantly paranoid".
He said previously: "I got sick of it really. I felt as though I’d outgrown it. It wasn’t something I kept wanting to put myself through and I was turning into an absolute tit. Incapable of having a relationship, incapable of going out and behaving like a normal human being. Constantly paranoid."
Suede release their new album ‘The Blue Hour’ on September 21.
Brett Anderson: Drugs don’t make you more creative
