Inside the rise and fall of troubled Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns
He rose to fame as the frontman for Aussie rock band Silverchair when he was just a teenager — and throughout his career, Daniel Johns dealt with his fair share of struggles.
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Troubled musician Daniel Johns’ public struggle with fame, an alcohol disorder and mental health battles have dogged the star for many years.
As a teenager from Newcastle, Johns rose to international stardom as frontman for rock band Silverchair, rocketing up the charts from the 1990s.
The now 43-year-old has had many controversies aired in the public, from being photographed stumbling around drunk on the streets to escaping a jail term for causing a crash while drink driving in 2022.
We take a look back at his decades in the public spotlight and how he is trying to overcome his personal battles.
Silverchair: Rise of a music icon
Daniel Johns was born on April 22, 1979 and grew up in Newcastle.
When he was a teenager, he formed the band Silverchair with Chris Joannou and Ben Gillies in 1992 and by the time he was 15 years old, they had signed a record deal.
From there it was an almost meteoric rise to fame — from playing at local venues to global arenas.
He is a singer, songwriter and guitarist and throughout his personal battles, Johns has continued to make music even after Silverchair split in 2011.
He is part of The Dissociatives with Paul Mac, and one half of Dreams with Luke Steele.
Silverchair is tied with John Farnham for most ARIA trophies, having each won 21 awards.
In 2021, Johns said he had no plans to bring the Silverchair band back together again.
Johns was married to Aussie singer Natalie Imbruglia from 2003 to 2008 and in the Who Is Daniel Johns podcast, the couple talked about their marriage breakdown, with Imbruglia saying he was the “love of my life”.
He other long-term relationship with model and interior designer Michelle Leslie ended in 2019 after three years.
In August 2022, ahead of his launch of his new YouTube series The Mind of Daniel Johns, he revealed his Silverchair bandmates Ben Gillies and Chris Joannou declined his invitation to feature on his comeback album FutureNever.
Personal battles and controversies
Johns’ battle with alcohol, chronic post traumatic stress disorder, a pain disorder and eating disorders as well as anxiety have been publicised for many years, with the music star often upfront about his personal demons.
“I’ve got an issue with alcohol, for sure. I don’t think I am an alcoholic, but every single time we need to talk, I need to have two drinks so I don’t feel awful,” he said in the 2021 Who is Daniel Johns? podcast.
“I just feel really nervous all the time and that’s the only thing that seems to fix it.”
But in April 2022, ahead of his new FutureNever album release and after being charged over a crash on the Pacific Hwy near Tea Gardens on March 23, he checked himself into rehab.
He made a raw post on Instagram at the time, saying:
“My drinking had become a bigger problem than I had even realised, and how I have used it to help numb a range of deeper psychological issues that I have been living with since my childhood,” he wrote.
“Some of those issues you know, and a lot cut much deeper. Alcohol is no medicine.
“I never should have treated it like it was. I feel like a complete f**k up and I’m sorry. I take full responsibility for my actions on the evening of March 23rd.”
During his sentencing on July 6 for the crash, where he registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.157, his solicitor Bryan Wrench said Johns had struggled with his fame from his early teens, with his mental health issues exacerbated by being in the spotlight, adding Johns became a
recluse who rarely left the safety of his own home.
Mr Wrench said Johns had suffered from a range of health issues during his life, including anorexia in his mid-20s which left him ”almost on his death bed”, related severe arthritis and was suffering stress, anxiety and vomiting in the lead-up to the crash.
He was sentenced to 10 months jail but was ordered to serve it in the community as an intensive corrections order. He was also disqualified from driving for seven months.
It was Johns’ second drink driving offence after being convicted and fined $880 after registering 0.124 when he was stopped for speeding in suburban Newcastle in 2014.
Road to recovery
Johns has been candid about his personal addictions, booking himself into rehab in 2022 to help deal with his issues, and did not attend any “in-person” functions when his album — his first record in seven years and second solo album — was released in April.
Music has also been a huge part of his life and with the music icon agreeing to take part in the Who Is Daniel Johns? podcast in 2021, to help wipe the slate of his past clean and start again.
It was revealed Johns is not yet ready to be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
“I don’t want to be in the Hall of Fame until I’m dead,” he said.
“I’m not even finished. I’m not even close. I’m about halfway but the second half is going to be better.”
He is also set to release a mini biopic about his life in the early days of Silverchair.
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Originally published as Inside the rise and fall of troubled Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns
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