Quotes

[2016] It [the music industry] encourages ... drinking and partying. You don't have to pay for alcohol ever, it's always free. You get given anything you want, really. Especially when you get to a certain level. Everything is there for taking, so why not? You're so used to being poor, scraping by, and the second you get free stuff, you take it all. The unfortunate thing is that mental illness and creativity seem to go hand in hand. So many of my musician friends have depression and anxiety - it's getting talked about more, but there's no support network.

[2016] I even tried hypnotherapy. Like, what the fuck is that?!

[2016] She [Lucy Lawless, who had introduced Ladyhawke to Madeleine Sami] was going to get a celebrant license and marry us. I'm actually an ordained minister in America - I've married my friends. I'm called Minister Ladyhawke. That's my official name.

[2016] I was always quite drunk on stage, and I used to go quite hard and rock out. That was my way of hiding it. It became a crutch for me - I was dependent on my guitar. Unhealthily so. I would never put it down. It was always there and it almost became a symbol for my stage anxiety.

[2016] It was like I had an out-of-body experience. I saw myself and couldn't believe what I'd become. I felt disgusted, like: 'What the fuck am I doing?' I'd made my career come to a grinding halt because I was not doing anything; I was wallowing in my own shit and I was drinking too much, and I felt so bad. I felt the worst hangover coupled with depression and aching and felt horrible. Bloated and disgusting like a pig. [lets out a big, high-pitched laugh] I just remember lying there like a sweaty, pasty mess.

[2016] [Given her struggles, has she ever thought of giving up?] So many times. I've even said to my manager that I would give up everything to not feel depressed any more. I know a lot of people like to draw on the darkness, but I got sick of it. But who am I kidding? I couldn't do anything else! There's nothing else I can do. [Not entirely. There's always the option of becoming a full-time celebrant.] I could. [lets out a laugh] There's big money in that. Probably more than I'll make in music!