"Knowledge is power", once declared a wise man, which is why we've trawled the country to bring you the best bars, music hang-outs and gigs in one handy guide. We've even thrown in a weekly music quiz in for good measure, so you can measure your expanding rock 'n' roll savvy. Enjoy!
My Drug Hell
A wise man once said The Drugs Don't Work, and he was probably right too.
Joseph Mount
Metronomy
"I didn't really go that crazy for hard drugs at university, I got myself a bit of a weed habit though. During my second year it hit its peak. This all coincided with my housemates and me deciding that what was on the BBC wasn't worth paying for, which was true at the time. So several moments in my second year was spent running from the TV licence man, an event became more and more unworkable as our drug paranoia set in. The door bell would ring, Oscar from the band would stand prone, I'd go to the door, cough once if the silhouette looked authoritative and taking this cue Oscar would unplug the TV and run outside through the garden and into the night. After a few times of this happening and perhaps out of spite, our neighbours phoned the police after witnessing what appeared to be a robbery. Oscar was duly arrested."
David Thorpe
Pete And The Pirates
"I've got too many drug stories to mention. I studied at Bristol, and we used to go up to Wales and spend days in the forests picking mushrooms. We'd pick whole bin-liners of them, and we'd eat as we went. Which seems OK, until you suddenly realise that it's been three hours and you've eaten maybe ten caps and you're not going to come down any time soon. We never even got round to finishing half of the mushies we picked. I had big bags in my room, and we had to throw them all away because there were worms infesting them."
Andy Stone
The Displacements
"One of my mates gave us a bag of mushrooms not too long ago, recently, and another mate of mine took some and started freaking out - he spent an hour imagining he was walking into different pictures every time he took a step. We were in a wood, and he started thinking that the trees were attacking him. Then he spent 40 minutes telling us he was having one prolonged orgasm - which can't be bad I suppose."
Toby Kidd
Hatcham Social
"I remember my brother taking a whole bunch of ketamine, and going straight down a K-hole - he was complaining he couldn't move, which freaked us out as much as him. I always freaks me out to watch other people on drugs. They go off on long rambling tangents, which is OK when you're on one, but if you're not there's this barrier between you and them. It's difficult to know what to do."
Uselful Numbers
- Benefit Enquiry Line: 0800 88 22 00
- Frank - Drug Advice: 0800 77 66 00
- Samaritans: 08457 90 90 90
- Shelter: 0808 800 4444
