Conrad Sewell knocked out by all-night bender before gig

FOR a musician, it doesn’t get any bigger than playing at Madison Square Garden. But for Aussie singer Conrad Sewell, blacking out before a gig after an all-night bender was the wake up call he desperately needed.

BLACKING out in the back of a limo on his way to playing one of the world’s most famous music venues was the wake-up call Conrad Sewell needed.

It was December 2015, the now 30-year-old had just won his first ARIA Award, and he was sharing the bill at the prestigious Jingle Ball at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden with superstars Calvin Harris, Fifth Harmony, The Weeknd, Selena Gomez and Shawn Mendes.

Musician Conrad Sewell. Picture: Sony Music

“I blacked out before I played Madison Square Garden,” Sewell said, flying home to Australia to sit down with The Sunday Telegraph. “It was the opportunity of a lifetime. I’d go out on an all-night bender and I’m on the road to Madison Square Garden and they are trying to sober me up before I play what is a dream of mine.

“That was when I was like, ‘what the f ... are you doing?’

In an honest interview, Sewell ­detailed the lowest of lows. Picture: Dylan Robinson

In a refreshingly honest and powerful interview, Sewell ­detailed the lowest of lows that will be reflected when he releases two songs later this month after his signing to Sony Music Australia. It has been two years since his last release.

“There is video of me backstage at the Garden shouting at my best friend and manager for them to give me more alcohol before I went on (stage) because that was the only way I could get through it,” he said.

“When  I  woke  up the ­morning  after  that, I was like, now it is ­affecting everything. Who does that?”

With his long hair, rock-star style and brooding looks, Sewell shares a resemblance with ­Michael Hutchence. Picture: D Dipasupil

With his long hair, rock star style and brooding looks, Sewell shares a resemblance with ­Michael Hutchence, who died from the excesses of fame at the age of 37.

“I looked at all these rock stars like the (Rolling) Stones and Led Zeppelin and Freddie Mercury and everyone always seemed to do that,” he said.

“So for me, I was like, ‘I can do that too’.

“And I always have been able to somewhat get away with that with my voice.

“I  grew  up  singing  in  pubs so I would drink and I could sing through it but no one does that anymore. Vocally, I can’t do it anymore.”

“ You’ve got to wake up and do promo the next morning. Rock’n’ roll ain’t what it used to be. Or it can be but you aren’t going to last long and I want to last long.”