Shannon Noll's drug confession
SHANNON Noll has admitted to using drugs and bingeing on alcohol, confirming one of the Australian music industry's worst kept secrets.
SHANNON Noll has admitted to using drugs and bingeing on alcohol, confirming one of the Australian music industry's worst kept secrets.
Noll, 32, said he turned to drugs and booze after the death of his teetotaller father Neil in an accident on the family's farm in rural NSW seven years ago.
"You can live well, do everything right, and still be killed,'' Noll told The Sunday Telegraph.
"So I thought I'd have a crack at everything. I didn't let myself think about him (his father) when I was smashed. Consequently, I found myself getting smashed a lot.''
Noll said he had given up drugs for his children.
"I got to a stage where I had to own up to it,'' he said. "I'd turned into a zombie on the lounge. I wasn't doing anything useful.
Noll's confession will not come as a shock to many in the industry. Innuendo has been rife for years.
News of drug-taking in the rock industry is hardly surprising given that everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Jimmy Barnes, Robbie Williams, Sting and Keith Richards have spoken about their substance abuse.
But in an interview with 60 Minutes last Sunday the question of Noll's drug use was ignored.
The program attracted a massive national audience of more than 1.7 million people. The huge numbers were attributed to the Noll interview because of his popularity.
On Monday, the music industry was awash with talk that 60 Minutes failed to ask about his drug use.
Asked by The Sunday Telegraph last week to elaborate on the type of drugs he has taken and his party-boy reputation, Noll said: ``I am a normal Australian bloke. I do love a beer.
``But I'm no different to any young bloke you'll meet who's playing football, or surfing, or working. I want to enjoy my life and have a good time.''
He did confirm that he had used marijuana heavily.
``My dad never drank and he never smoked,'' Noll explained.
``He worked his fingers to the bone. You can be a good man and, still, things can go wrong.
``You can wrap yourself in cotton wool and get hit by a truck. So I thought, bugger it, I'm going to live life, try things, have a bit of fun and not live in the closet. I don't want to live my life worrying about what might go wrong.''
In April, 2005, Noll was banned from driving for nine months after being found guilty of drink-driving after partying in his home town of Condobolin.
In March this year, he outraged fans during a drunken performance at the CMC Rocks The Snowy's Festival in Thredbo. Noll staggered and slurred his way through the set.
He explained his behaviour by saying he had taken antibiotics for a throat infection and drank three beers before going on stage.
``I threw down the last beer and then the alarm bells went off,'' he said. ``I knew I was teetering. I was on the borderline of being gone.''
Noll admitted he usually rambled between songs but denied he had staggered or slurred during the show. ``I came offstage thinking: `Damn!' I should have known better.''
Noll vows never to repeat that mistake. ``I am aware of how easily it can happen and I'll never go near that realm of possibility again,'' he said.
With three chart-topping albums, a string of hit singles and countless tours, Noll works hard.
But he says perceptions he is playing too hard are false.
Noll lives in Sydney with his wife, Rochelle Ogsten, and their three young children _ Cody, Blake and Sienna.