Chris Stein, of Blondie, says his health isn’t up to the demands of travel anymore. Photo / Getty Images
Chris Stein, of Blondie, says his health isn’t up to the demands of travel anymore. Photo / Getty Images
This article deals with alcohol and drug addiction. See below for helpline information.
Blondie’s Chris Stein doesn’t think he’ll play live with the group again.
The 74-year-old guitarist has just finished work on a new album, but he won’t be joining fellow founder member Debbie Harry and the rest of the group on the road in support of the record because his health isn’t up to the demands of travel anymore.
He told the Observer newspaper: “After 50 years and all my health issues, I live a little more sedentary now.
“Just doing the hotels and the airplanes is hard. And I’ve got a f***ing heart condition and I’m at the tail end of dealing with prostate cancer, so I just thought, ‘F*** it’, you know?
“Maybe I should have drunk more like Keith [Richards]. I don’t know how those guys do it, but more power to them.”
Stein was left devastated last year when his and wife Barbara Sicuranza’s daughter, Akira, died from an accidental overdose aged 19, and he’s worried his own tales of taking drugs were “misconstrued” by his offspring, rather than being taken as a warning.
He wrote in his new memoir, Under a Rock: “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with and am dealing with.”
Chris Stein reveals in new memoir, Under a Rock, the hardships of his journey to mourning and addiction. Photo / Getty Images
“I thought that I presented my own drug experiences in a negative light to our kids, but I’m racked with guilt that any discussions might have been misconstrued.”
But the Rapturemusician is unsure if he could have changed his own path.
“I don’t know if it would have been easy to do anything differently,” he said.
Blondie disbanded in 1982 before re-forming in 1997, and Stein admitted his own drug abuse contributed to the split, as well as the pressure of being expected to produce an album every year and go on tour to promote the record.
“It was hard to keep up. That’s why everybody self-imploded after a while in the early 80s.
“It was tremendous amounts of pressure. And just our own weaknesses, and all the drug abuse. For me, anyway.”
After the group split, Stein and Harry retained their romantic relationship, but they eventually split when both sought treatment in rehab for their respective addictions.
The guitarist reflected: ”I am always like the boy who stood on the burning deck.
“I’m a fan of chaos, I like it. But I guess, inevitably, there’s parts of you that get befuddled by too much chaos. I think it took its toll, but it’s not something I’m against.”
