Book description
The life of a rock star to the brink of death and back - and there
again - the most shockingly honest account of alcoholism you will ever
read. I have performed for royalty, dined with Superman, stood on a
stage before 100,000 people and graced the covers of magazines. I lived
an enchanted lifestyle. I woke up one day to find it had all deserted
me. I found myself lying broken, beaten and bleeding upon the wreckage
of my youth. Achieving fame in the eighties with hits like 'Barbados'
and 'Modern Girl', James Freud was voracious for everything and anything
life had to offer. Vivacious and irrepressible, he hung out with Robert
Smith and Siouxsie Sioux in London, he once hit Elvis Costello, toured
with Kylie Minogue, stared down the barrel of Chopper Read s gun and
got drunk with Tommy Lee. But as alcohol and pills came to rule his
life, the hits stopped coming. He briefly got sober, but by the time he
was promoting the first part of his autobiography, I am the Voice left
from Drinking, he had become a chronic and hopeless alcoholic. I Am The
Voice Left From Rehab is the dark, gritty account of exactly what
happened to James and his family next, chronicling his physical, mental
and spiritual demise as time and again he drove himself to the brink of
death through booze and drugs, to the despair of his loyal wife and
sons. For four years, he was repeatedly arrested, hospitalised and
institutionalised, and attempted suicide several times before finally he
called on his deepest reserves of willpower to try, one last time, to
get clean and stay that way. This is the most brutally honest account of
alcoholism you will ever read, by a man who even in his darkest days was
so charismatic, funny and full of love that his family wouldn't leave
him, a man who for a time found the strength to turn his life around.
James ended his life in December 2010. Born in 1959 as Colin
McGlinchy, James Freud s bands included James Freud and the Radio
Allstars, Teenage Radio Stars, Models, Beatfish and Moondog. Freud also
had a career as a solo artist and writer. In 1977, Freud and his school
friend Sean Kelly formed Teenage Radio Stars, a glam-punk band with
Freud on lead vocals and guitar. They broke up the next year and Freud
formed James Freud and the Radio Allstars. His hits included  BarbadosÂ
,  Out of Mind, Out of Sight and  Modern Girl . He has worked in
commercial production, made short films and published two books. James
Freud ended his life in December 2010.
