“Without sobriety, this album or this band wouldn’t exist.”

ROYAL BLOOD –

April 16, 2021 – “There are people in my life now who have got sober, and now helping fucking crack addicts,” says Kerr. “It’s amazing. Someone reached out to me that way. I feel like I have a responsibility to myself through lyric-writing. It was important for me to be open about it, because I know I’m not alone in these experiences. I had the confidence to do that because I was clean and sober. I didn’t need to hide behind anything any more. When the album comes out I’ll probably feel like, ‘Oh my goodness! Here’s my diary!’ But I like to think it’s poetic enough to not be crass.” As so many touring musicians or just anyone who’s struggled with lockdown may have learned, the idea of sobriety can seem totally unfathomable, but now Kerr wants to normalise the conversation. “It can be a very lonely experience because you can be the only one doing it, especially in our country where drinking is a part of our culture. It’s so engrained, especially with guys; there’s a macho thing to it. There could be more voices, because I know there are a lot of sober people in the music industry.”