Rock Stars Who Don't Do Drugs

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

This isn't a pro-drug or anti-drug thread, I just want to see how many rock stars people can name who notably don't get high or drunk.
Don't put Ian Mackaye, please. Everyone knows that one.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Jonathan Richman
Chuck Berry
Bruce Springsteen

― M Matos (M Matos), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:05 (twenty-two years ago)

Gene Simmons, apparently.

― udu wudu (udu wudu), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:05 (twenty-two years ago)

chris martin, probably

― the surface noise (electricsound), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:05 (twenty-two years ago)

er, keiji haino is a rock guitarist and he apparently doesn't even smoke or drink.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:07 (twenty-two years ago)

I'd imagine that there a lot of former users who have aged a bit and now abstain, eg: the members of Aerosmith.

Frank Zappa didn't indulge in drugs or booze, with the exception of nicotine.

― Nom De Plume (Nom De Plume), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Dee Snider of Twisted Sister.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:11 (twenty-two years ago)

The Nuge.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Did Johnny Ramone partake at all?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:15 (twenty-two years ago)

prince, yes?

― cinniblount (James Blount), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Jeru the Damaja's just gone straight edge.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:20 (twenty-two years ago)

I hear Lou Reed is totally straight these days, but that can't possibly count, can it?

― Salmon Pink (Salmon Pink), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:21 (twenty-two years ago)

haino does not even partake in caffeine as far as I know

― chris besinger (chris besinger), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Cliff Richard, surely?

― udu wudu (udu wudu), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Do Cliff and Haino have anything else in common?

― udu wudu (udu wudu), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Aha, the Mormons to thread --the Osmonds, a couple of folks from Low, and Randy Bachman.

― Nom De Plume (Nom De Plume), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:27 (twenty-two years ago)

''Do Cliff and Haino have anything else in common?''

the british don't get either of them?

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Most straight-edge bands I suspect...

― Stupid (Stupid), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Many of the San Diego indie contigents are vegan and drug-free. Chances are, if they love black metal, they are vegan and drug-free (outside the occasional beer). Or at least any band with Rob Crow in it...

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Disregard my last statement completely if Star Wars or video games are considered drugs.

― donut bitch (donut), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Robert Fripp

― man, Tuesday, 16 December 2003 22:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Henry Rollins?

― Michael Patrick Brady (Michael Patrick Brady), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 23:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Roger Waters--and only Rog, which'd explain a few things--or so I've heard

― ermes marana, Tuesday, 16 December 2003 23:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Prince has definitely partaken of drugs (specifically ecstasy) and alcohol, tho he may be all clean living now.

Goddamn jehovah's witnesses...

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 16 December 2003 23:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Jack White, supposedly

― pete s, Tuesday, 16 December 2003 23:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Henry Rollins now, not in the 80s.

― Cacaman Flores, Tuesday, 16 December 2003 23:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Nicky Wire

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 23:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Pat Boone?

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 16 December 2003 23:51 (twenty-two years ago)

How bout De La Soul re: weed? Or am I misinterpreting some lyrics?

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 00:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Gerardo.

("How do I do it? I cope!")

― Joseph McCombs, Wednesday, 17 December 2003 00:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Neil Young?

At least "The Needle And The Damage Done" may be rock's most famous anti-drug song.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 00:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Neil Young took lotsa coke and weed and the infamous honey slides...

is it true rollins was into acid back in the days of the flag?

― stevie (stevie), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 01:03 (twenty-two years ago)

Chunky A.

― donut bitch (donut), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 01:07 (twenty-two years ago)

I doubt that very much.

― jazz odysseus, Wednesday, 17 December 2003 01:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Yup, it's been documented in his bio.

― Francis Watlington (Francis Watlington), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 01:16 (twenty-two years ago)

That was to stevie.

― Francis Watlington (Francis Watlington), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 01:17 (twenty-two years ago)

I believe Chuck Dukowski of Black Flag is who introduced Rollins to LSD.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 01:23 (twenty-two years ago)

The guy from Coldplay, Mike Muir from Suicidal Tendencies, and (very suspect) Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips (so I've heard).

― roger adultery, Wednesday, 17 December 2003 01:27 (twenty-two years ago)

LOTS of your favorite rock stars, small and gigantic, do not get fucked-up anymore, friends.
More than you can imagine!

― yetimike (McGonigal), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 01:46 (twenty-two years ago)

beck is clean(clear?) but i'm positive he was extremely stoned judging by the glossiness/redness of his eyes when he was an unknown who opened for further and the treepeople at raji's in hollywood in 1992-3.

― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 01:52 (twenty-two years ago)

Scientology killed el perdedor

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 01:58 (twenty-two years ago)

my band opened up for Black Heart Procession a few years ago (super nice dudes) and afterwards Pall offered to smoke us all up. We're all hardcore garbageheads, so of course we accepted. We offered him some of our goodies in return and Pall told us that he only smoked pot, and the rest of the band was entirely straight. It sorta seemed like the band, who were loading up the van, were sorta annoyed by the whole thing, and Pall confirmed it, saying that the band hated that he smoked pot every night. Weird.

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 02:01 (twenty-two years ago)

These days, Andre 3000.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 02:03 (twenty-two years ago)

also: I love the word "teetotaler".

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 02:03 (twenty-two years ago)

moby
mark sandman

― kephm, Wednesday, 17 December 2003 02:11 (twenty-two years ago)

haha roger, that's cuz Paul came from SD's progmetal scene whereas the rest of TBHP were all hardcore kids (but Toby drinks, at least he used to during the 90s... i know for a fact!)

― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 02:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Andy Partridge

― dleone (dleone), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 02:15 (twenty-two years ago)

i think Andrew WK is.

― MerkinMuffley (MerkinMuffley), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 03:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Andre 3000.

― Marcos Lopez, Wednesday, 17 December 2003 09:03 (twenty-two years ago)

There's quite a few famous dance people who dont: e.g. Josh Wink, Dave Clarke

― Robin Goad (rgoad), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 09:18 (twenty-two years ago)

mark sandman

Really? I always wondered about him... That he died so young... And of a heart attack...

I remember the press statement that covered Timmy Taylor of Brainiac's fatal car crash stated that he didn't touch drugs....

― stevie (stevie), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 09:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Don Van Vliet always claimed that he didn't do drugs.

Of course the good Captain is known to have to old the occasional fib.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 09:58 (twenty-two years ago)

And that's a whopper. Him and the band munched acid like sweeties
(did he coerce them? etc.)

― pete s, Wednesday, 17 December 2003 10:03 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't think Steve Albini does drugs, if I'm not mistaken.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 11:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Doesn't drink either.

― mei (mei), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 13:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Mark Sandman? Really? That just makes me even sadder and miss him more. :(

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 15:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh yeah, the name-I-came-here-to-post: Mike Patton. Except for cigs that is.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 15:03 (twenty-two years ago)

swamp dogg
snoop dogg

― thomas de'aguirre (biteylove), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 16:58 (twenty-two years ago)

stevie..
what the hells a honey slide?

― kevin brady (groeuvre), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 17:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Mark Kozelek

― Chris 'Knuckle Deep' V. (Chris V), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 17:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Mike Patton doesn't do drugs????????

― Chris 'Knuckle Deep' V. (Chris V), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 17:38 (twenty-two years ago)

honey slides = concoction of hash and honey cooked up in a pan and eaten while still warm.... neil's intoxicant of choice during the tonight's te night/on the beach era...

― stevie (stevie), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 17:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Thom Yorke

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 18:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Bruce Springsteen

he may not do drugs, but he could be found completely plastered at any given jersey shore bar on any given weekend night for a good part of the '90s, if not still.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 19:13 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't think Steve Albini does drugs, if I'm not mistaken.

Doesn't drink either.

The NME report* of last years ATP suggested that he'd had a few beers with Kim Deal the night before.

*Not that that's any indication of accuracy

― Ben Dot (1977), Wednesday, 17 December 2003 23:17 (twenty-two years ago)

he has a beer every once in a while, but he is not a big drinker.

― hstencil, Wednesday, 17 December 2003 23:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Banana Splits
Josie and the Pussy Cats

― mekongi, Thursday, 18 December 2003 12:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Andy Partridge from XTC is known to dabble in cup of tea every now and then.

― mentalist (mentalist), Thursday, 18 December 2003 12:29 (twenty-two years ago)

A few years ago NY Press had a cover story following the Unband around on their tour w/ Def Leppard. Leppard have recently been playing up their newfound "straight edge" for the press, but in the privacy of their tour bus, etc, they all still indulge (according to the author of the article).

― bad jode (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 18 December 2003 13:43 (twenty-two years ago)

re: Springsteen
As a current resident of Asbury Park and as a regular performer at the Stone Pony, I can attest to his alcohol imbibing.
When hanging backstage w/ The Boss and Michael J. Fox recently at an annual benefit for parkinsons research, (at which they both performed!) Bruce was partying, beer in hand ,w/ an obvious buzz. But nothing like the previous year when he was so smashed that he fell off the stage in the middle of a song. . .
He takes his official concerts far more seriously though, and does'em sober .

― particlewave, Saturday, 20 December 2003 19:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Momus?

― kinski (kinski), Saturday, 20 December 2003 19:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Mike Patton doesn't do drugs????????

This doesn't surprise me at all. I've known guys like that who stay stone sober all day long, but are the craziest mofos you'll ever meet.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Saturday, 20 December 2003 19:47 (twenty-two years ago)

Ted Nugent? That been said yet?

― El Spinktor (El Spinktor), Saturday, 20 December 2003 20:38 (twenty-two years ago)

Andre 3000 doesn't need drugs!

Brian Eno (but is partial to the odd glass of red wine)

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Saturday, 20 December 2003 20:43 (twenty-two years ago)

two years pass...

I know this is very much a question of defining drugs. Thus: Are there any rock starts who don´t do drugs, tobacco nor alcohol?

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Saturday, 28 October 2006 18:34 (nineteen years ago)

adolf hitler

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Saturday, 28 October 2006 18:45 (nineteen years ago)

true, he was the original straight-edge nazi!

― latebloomer: Winner of the Congressional Medal of....UGLY (latebloomer), Saturday, 28 October 2006 19:04 (nineteen years ago)

I think there are also many former hard core drug-using rock stars who have gone through rehab and are considered clean, but "still smoke shitloads of pot" (I'm pretty sure I'm directly quoting Billy Idol about himself there), but don't touch any other drugs, including booze.

― shorty (shorty), Saturday, 28 October 2006 20:04 (nineteen years ago)

Sonic Youth are totally sober, right? When I saw them live Thurston said he quit smoking cigarettes in his early teens. I once saw an interview with Kim Gordon and Steve Shelley, and there was a pack of cigs on the table in front of them. Could've been someone else's, though.

― Rat Nasty (ratnasty), Saturday, 28 October 2006 21:20 (nineteen years ago)

I thought Sonic Youth were big stoners.

Are there any rock stars who don´t do drugs, tobacco nor alcohol?

The Mormon ones?

― LC (Damian), Saturday, 28 October 2006 21:40 (nineteen years ago)

Aha, the Mormons to thread -- a couple of folks from Low

Nope - here's an excerpt from Alan Sparhawk's recent interview with Pitchfork:

Pitchfork: You've said in other interviews that you had a drug problem, but it wasn't a stereotypical one.

Sparhawk: When musicians say drug problem, they mean, "Things have gotten to the point where..." Unfortunately, a lot of what's going to come out of my mouth is going to sound like typical addict drivel. But I'm not a heroin addict. It's a weird thing, it's not something I'm necessarily hiding, but at the same time, I'm a little sad about the fact that it will probably eventually get to people for whom it will be a little harder to hear.

Part of what has been going down mentally with me has been I'm a big fucking chronic [smoker], and that's something that I've only been doing the past couple of years. And unfortunately it's been hand in hand with the last couple years where I've really gotten sick. It took a while to get to the point last year where we had to cancel and I had to go to the hospital. It was a long hard thing, and that's probably part of why Zak's not in the band. It's hard to be close to someone who's battling through that.

Unfortunately, it s a big thing to me, because it's something that doesn't jive with my religious sitting, and there have been people who've made a big deal about how we're Mormons, and we don't do this and this and this. And the truth is that I'm not perfect, and this is something right now that I do, depending on who you want to argue with, it's been at least in my mind, it's as valid as the other medications that the doctors have been giving me. And can I get a day or a week without it? I don't know. And does that make me an addict? Maybe it does. And right now if I'm an addict, then I'm an addict. I guess, relatively, I'd pick this problem over the other problems I've spent my life staying away from. I'm not in the business of justifying it. I know what it's doing for me and what it's not doing for me. And I wish that was not something I had to do, but you can make the same argument with the medications I'm using. I've got medications that, if I lose them, within three days I'll probably go into shock, or at least get really ill.

Pitchfork: What you're taking now, the smoking doesn't interfere?

Sparhawk: Depends on whom you talk to. I've been through three or four different professionals and you get wildly different opinions about that-- that it doesn't interfere, some studies have shown that it actually helps. And at the end of the day, with mental health and psychological drug interaction and stuff like that, everybody's different, man. Just because one medication works on so-and-so doesn't mean it's going to do the same thing on another. It's the same thing with smoking pot.

Pitchfork: I've had people close to me go through that, five different psychiatrists, 10 different medications.

Sparhawk: It's really ugly. I feel lucky that it didn't take too much messing around. If they try something out on you, they don't really know if it's working for three, four, six months. Meanwhile, you've got six months of maybe nothing working. And for some people, that's not an option. By the time you show up at the hospital, you're not in the position to fuck around for six months and see which medication works. Unfortunately all they can do is fish around.

Pitchfork: I can't blame you.

Sparhawk: I really feel horrible about it. I'm not going to try and justify it. I'm sad because there probably are some Mormon kids out there who are obeying the rules, who are looking for an excuse. Obviously, I don't want to become the poster boy of anything, whether it's being Mormon, or crazy guy who now smokes pot-- hypocrite, or "dude, everybody do it, it's good." I don't want to be that either.

― Stephen Bush (Stephen B.), Saturday, 28 October 2006 22:18 (nineteen years ago)

How about Brandon Flowers?

― chap who would dare to welcome our new stingray masters (chap), Saturday, 28 October 2006 22:20 (nineteen years ago)

How about J0hn D.?

― Stephen Bush (Stephen B.), Saturday, 28 October 2006 22:25 (nineteen years ago)

David Sylvian, though I'm sure he used to.

I can't imagine any of the members of YMO doing drugs (though I know Hosono at least smoked/smokes).

― Patrick South (Patrick South), Saturday, 28 October 2006 22:50 (nineteen years ago)

PATTI SMITH!!!!!!!

― minerva estassi (minerva estassi), Sunday, 29 October 2006 01:00 (nineteen years ago)

nicky wire

― wordy rappinghood (roxymuzak), Tuesday, 31 October 2006 03:25 (nineteen years ago)

oops, that's been said.

― wordy rappinghood (roxymuzak), Tuesday, 31 October 2006 03:25 (nineteen years ago)

-- roger adultery (vlad62...), December 17th, 2003.

Granted this post is three years old, nonetheless, when I saw The Black Heart Procession this summer I specifically remember the band being brought shots while onstage. I remember this because the lead singer threw the plate (the cups were on) out into the audience, and my friend caught it. I ended up taking the plate because (as I was in a 5 week course in another city) I actually needed a plate. . . to eat food off of.

So The Black Heart Processions consumption of alcohol gave me something to eat shitty pasta off of for a good week.

― Thomas Mehlt (Tokyo Ghost Stories), Tuesday, 31 October 2006 06:39 (nineteen years ago)

Lawrence!

Smack doesn't count, right?

― Hot Hot Heat (Hot Hot Heat), Tuesday, 31 October 2006 12:07 (nineteen years ago)

PATTI SMITH!!!!!!!

back in the day she inhaled like a rasta

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Tuesday, 31 October 2006 14:18 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/10/30/music.love.reut/index.html

― sunny successor (katharine), Tuesday, 31 October 2006 16:15 (nineteen years ago)

I saw Patti Smith recently and she had a moustache.

― shookout (shookout), Tuesday, 31 October 2006 19:39 (nineteen years ago)

I dunno, but the booking agent at the Knitting Factory told me that I should do more of them. (Nicely, he booked us anyway.)

― Myke. (Myke Weiskopf), Wednesday, 1 November 2006 04:58 (nineteen years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.