Steven Tyler thought his bandmates were trying to "brainwash" him because they wanted him to get sober.
The 70-year-old Aerosmith frontman has admitted that when original bandmates Joe Perry, Ray Tabano, Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer, tried to help him get clean of drink and drugs, he was scared he would "lose [his] creativity".
In an interview with GQ magazine, he said: "We would do cocaine to go up, Quaaludes to come down, we would drink and then snort some coke until we thought we were straight. But that’s not true – you’re just drunk and coked out.
"It was interesting that I was being told by a bunch of guys that were still getting f***ed up, I thought they were trying to brainwash me.
"I thought I would lose my creativity … but I’m grateful that that happened because I would have never seen the light.
"All the magic that you thought worked when you were high comes out when you get sober. You realise it was always there, and your fear goes away.
"We all got sober, I guess, over ’88, ’89, and those albums were all off the charts. Finally had a No. 1 single."
The legendary musician – who is father to Taj, 27, Chelsea, 29, Mia, 40, and 41-year-old Liv – confessed that although there was a "certain rawness" to his music while he was using drugs, he has too much at risk now to go down that path again.
He explained: "I got a band that’s still together, the guys are still alive, everyone’s healthy. We play better than we did 50 years ago,
"I mean, there was a certain rawness when we played clubs and we were all f***ed up. Sure, I get it. But the band is still together and still sought-after.
"People still want us for a million-plus dollars a night. And that’s what’s at risk if I use again. And my kids. My cats. My dogs. My beautiful f***ing house in Maui. My girlfriend. Everything is at risk."
Steven Tyler thought bandmates were brainwashing him
