Example: The Dark Side Of Money & Fame | E152

No one signs a record deal and has a manager come up to them and go, "There's a good chance you're gonna be really famous. Here's a pamphlet on how to not be a (beep) ."

Put your hands together for Example! (upbeat music plays) Money and fame can show you who you are. And one of the things you said is the person I was when I was 27 was a fucking monster.

When I became famous, I just went a bit off the rails with drugs and alcohol. I think there was just this, this one weekend at Glastonbury where I just kind of disappeared for 48 hours. I was in an absolute state.

What was the cost?

Well, it's just not nice to see your parents cry, you know?

Wow.

I look back as it being one of the worst weeks ever. And then I met Erin. Just watching someone grow a baby and give birth is like one of the most sobering experiences ever.

You tragically had a miscarriage on your second.

I remember I was invited onto Lorraine, and I was meant to go on and talk about a single and a tour. Just before I went on, they went, "We just found out you lost a second baby. Do you wanna make the whole interview about that?" I got so many messages from guys afterwards just going, "That's amazing you went on and spoke about that." I've realized there's been the first times I've spoken about things that I should have probably spoken about with friends or family a long time ago.

If you were advising a younger Elliot-

(laughs)

... what would you say in terms of the components that make for a good life?

I've often thought about this.

So without further ado, I'm Steven Bartlett, and this is The Diary of a CEO. I hope nobody's listening, but if you are, then please keep this to yourself. (electronic music plays) One of the things I always try and do, again, because I, I tend to believe that we are all a product of our like, of typically our significant childhood events, whatever they might be. When I look at your story, I was hazarding a guess as well. I was saying, "Well, this was obviously quite a key moment. This is the key moment." But in your own words, what were those catalyst key moments from your childhood that ultimately shaped you to become who you are today?

Oh, wow. Um, I think in terms of work ethic, um, it's definitely from my mum and dad. I was very aware as a kid, um, you know, even, uh, like, even before as a teenager how much time and effort my mum and dad put into, well, like, they're both working class and they both came from very humble beginnings. But I think the main thing I was aware of is that my dad was always away working as a kid. I was also aware that a lot of my friends' parents weren't together. You know, they were, a lot of them were raised by just their single mums. Um, but then I also saw how much effort my mum put in. She was... She didn't have a day job, but I could see how hard my mum worked, especially with my dad being away. So I think the work ethic thing has helped me a great deal in terms of where I've got to. Um, par- not so much anymore, but partly trying to impress them or, you know, feeling like I, uh, lived up to their standards, maybe in my early 20s, mid-20s. Apart from, you know, like my parents' influence as a kid, I think mainly I'd say the, the, you know, the culture at school in terms of music culture. London, I grew up in Fulham. I went to school in Wandsworth, and even though it was a really nice school in terms of it was a modern school, it was a technology college. It was a, I'd say the majority of kids I went to school with all lived on council estates, and I didn't, but I spent a lot of time down there. So I think that was really good in helping me not only understand, um, the different cultures and therefore, as a result, where the music cultures came from. Just like how other people live and how other pe- You know, what people have to go, go through. You know, like some of my best friends, their mums would have five jobs.