Tom Chaplin wants to use the Christmas season to prove to his family he can be "reliable".
The 38-year-old singer – who is best known as the lead singer of the band Keane – saw his life spiral out of control in the mid-2000s due to his addictions to drink and drugs, and since getting his life back on track, he is adamant that the festive season is the perfect time to show his loved ones how "trustworthy" he can be.
Speaking to the Daily Star newspaper, Tom said: "Christmas can be hard and certainly, from my experiences of talking to other people, it can be a real flashpoint in terms of temptation. But not for me because I’m so aware now of the importance of family and loved ones.
"I have a three-year-old daughter, and I know I wasted a lot of good years becoming isolated and distant from the people who count. I treat it as he time I get to see my extended family and I really look forward to it, just being there for them, being trustworthy and reliable."
The ‘Everybody’s Changing’ hitmaker – who has his three-year-old daughter with his wife Natalie Dive – suffered a relapse two years ago, and recently admitted he was playing "Russian roulette" with his life at the height of his drink and drug problems.
He said: "Death was coming to say hello. I could easily have copped it. It’s Russian roulette.
"When you’re going on binges that last four or five days, with no sleep and crazy amounts of drugs – and you’re also on your own.
"I pushed my family right to the edge, to the point where they were kind of saying their goodbyes."
Tom explained that cocaine proved to be his downfall after he’d spent many years enjoying the party lifestyle.
He added: "There were periods of my life during the Keane days, two or three years, where I didn’t touch coke but I was doing other things.
"I was doing party drugs and was the life and soul.
"But as soon as I went back to coke – particularly that drug – it seemed to have a very isolating, self-destructive hold on me."
Tom Chaplin: I want to prove I’m reliable
