BFT
London
The former My Chemical Romance frontman won fans the world over with the band’s emo sound, with the group coming to an end last year after more than a decade in the industry.
Just as his music has had a huge influence on audiences, 37-year-old Gerard has a list of songs which impacted him growing up.
“Caught By The Fuzz, Supergrass. I remember this song from art school. I was excited by its youthful energy and also had that experience of being caught with drugs. Everyone did,” Gerard explained to Q magazine.
“I had a few run-ins with cops as a kid, nothing too bad, but it was usually drugs or alcohol. It feels like back in the day you’d get in less trouble. Everything is a lot more serious now. I started with marijuana and graduated to experimenting with psychotics, so Caught By The Fuzz is my college song.”
Songs by Morrissey, Iggy Pop and Iron Maiden made the list too. Recalling the soundtrack to his first break-up, Gerard would listen to a 1994 song by Lush on repeat.
“Light From a Dead Star, Lush. I was in the middle of going through a really bad break-up. Bad, in that it was bad on me - I don’t think she had a difficult time breaking up with me at all!” he laughed. “She was my very first girlfriend - first love and I was completely destroyed. But Lush’s album Split spoke to me. That was my break-up record.”