[vonnik]

Becoming Led Zeppelin is a great documentary which chronicles the band’s rise. It has some great quotes from Plant about the milieu that fathers around a famous band, supplying drugs and sex. The substances lead to abuse, addiction and sometimes overdoses. LZ’s drummer Bonham choked in his own vomit during sleep after taking 40 shots. Page became addicted to several substances. Many famous singers if they survive are recovering from some form of addiction. Bowie, for example. There’s a culture they enter with fame and travel that is hard to escape.

[rdiddly]

Yeah but then go watch the Rush documentary. Seems like if the band decides to just retire to their hotel rooms and read, there's none of that.

[SoleilAbsolu]

Read Geddy Lee's "My Effin' Life" autobio...the amount of coke Rush used for quite some time came as a big, big surprise to me! And Alex Lifeson has been a huge stoner since forever.

[Miraltar]

Is it still true today?

[reactordev]

Are you asking if a drug and sex fueled lifestyle is still pursued today by musicians? The answer sadly is yes. There are lots of musicians that don’t go full throttle but most of the highly famous ones are running the red line. This is the OP’s point. Whether it’s the person amplified by the lifestyle that makes them famous or it’s the fame that enables the lifestyle that allows them to destroy themselves.

The road is littered with smashed guitars.

[astrobe_]

Speaking of roads, everyone points out lifestyle choices, but the lifestyle of popular bands/musicians is also countrywide or worldwide tours. It doesn't look like an easy life, so I wonder to what extend those excesses are related to being on the road maybe half of the year? I think this means no true social life for extended periods of time; not having people you value telling you that you're past that red line is one less safety.

Also, artists in general are a peculiar profile I think. It's not only famous singers that take drugs, commit suicide etc. One can easily find many writers and painters, some of them even only became famous postmortem.