Justin Hawkins quits The Darkness Drink and drug addicition forces the singer out The Darkness frontman
Justin Hawkins has quit the band to recover from drink and drug addictions.
The singer has decided to call it a day following a stint in
The Priory rehab clinic in
London.
"I feel bad for the others (in the band)," he told
The Sun newspaper. "It will be an upheaval. But it's time for me to move on. It would be damaging to my recovery to stay on. I'm not blaming the band for my problem - I am an addict. There are people who can be in bands and stay clean, but I'm not one of them."
Despite his decision to quit,
Hawkins said that the band will carry on without him, with bassist
Richie Edwards, who replaced former band member
Frankie Poullain, taking over the vocal duties.
According to the singer, his addiction to cocaine over the last few years became so bad that he was spending over a £1,000 a week on the drug.
"I feel like I've lost three years of my life. I'm only just coming to terms with what has happened because I was always off my face," he explained. "I became secretive, volatile and verbally abusive, a really unpleasant person to be around."
Hawkins added that he considered quitting
The Darkness last year before the band set off on a world tour, but carried on before entering rehab in August.
The singer said he will now concentrate on recording a solo record and writing music for films.
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