Gavin Rossdale admits his fans have saved him as much as he’s saved them – and inspire him to keep making records.
His band Bush’s new record, I Beat Loneliness, particularly the track Here To Save Your Life, was inspired by meeting fans on the road and them sharing how their music has helped them overcome the darkest days of their lives.
However, the 59-year-old rocker insists it works both ways and his fanbase “give [him] life” by “connecting” with his music.
Speaking exclusively to ContactMusic.com, he said: “I think that’s it’s helpful when you make records like this, because people feel they’re not alone. And I get so much inspiration from all the people that I meet on tour. You know, I do these meet and greets and I meet people or in the town that I’m in, wherever I am, you always run into people, because if I’m playing in the city and around the area, chances are when I go and get coffee, I’m going to bump into someone who’s coming to the show.
“And I had these conversations with people, and they are really nervous, and they sort of often kind of bluster through what they want to say, but it’s always connected to their mental health, how they were in a really bad place, all the way from suicide to just sort of depression to whatever it is.”
The Glycerine singer admits he’s pondered the thought of quitting music to make space for younger talent – but his fans remind him that his “perspective” is still vital.
He continued: “But the story I hear all the time, and the most brilliant thing people can say to me, the greatest compliment ever is, Please don’t stop making music.”
“I could be forgiven for thinking, All right, enough is enough. Come on, make some room for the youth. Just shut up. But I love writing songs. I love my perspective. I mean, my perspective doesn’t change. So it’s just when people say that to me, it’s such an amazing compliment. And the wild part is, is that they come up to me thinking that I did a lot for them when I’m just like, you gotta realise what you’ve done for me, to realise what you’ve done for me, because you give me life by connecting with me and even caring when there’s a world of choices. It’s a really great symbiosis, you know, living together and so that’s why I wrote that song, I’m Here To Save Your Life. That was literally after a night of a conversation I had with someone, and I was like, it’s such an incredible honour that someone can bestow on you.”
Bush’s new album, I Beat Loneliness, is out now.