Gerard Way relives alcohol torment

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Ex-MCR man says fear of his daughter growing up without a father helped him stop drinking

Former My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way has revealed he relapsed into alcoholism following the band’s final release – 2010’s Danger Days.

And the singer says the thought of his daughter growing up without a father spurred him on to tackle his addiction.

Way tells NME: “I relapsed, not into drugs, but booze. I was self-medicating again to get through, and I’d forgotten how miserable that made me. It took me to the dark place again, but there was more at stake this time.

“I started to face the hypothetical reality of my daughter not having a father. I started taking that seriously, thinking, ‘I want her to have a dad – a guy that’s present because one way or another, either by death or by asylum, she’s gonna be fatherless if I keep this up.’”

Way launches solo debut album Hesitant Alien on September 29 and played a warm-up gig last night in Portsmouth ahead of this weekend’s Reading and Leeds festivals.

Scott Munro
Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more for Louder. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, The Tragically Hip, Marillion and Rush.