He disappeared from the limelight a little after being enveloped by its glare since the tender age of 15.
But now, it seems, Daniel Johns wants to bid farewell to spotlight for the next little while, retreating to the United States in a bid to enjoy a relative form of anonymity and change of pace.
The Daily Telegraph reported this morning that 37-year-old Johns has left Australia “to lose himself in the sonic crevasses and booming crypts of the Los Angeles music scene.”
More than that, however, the paper acknowledges that a lifetime of mental health struggles has caught up with the “fragile” star, who no longer wants to tour as a means of keeping his “stage fright at bay”.
Why Silverchair’s Daniel Johns has fled Australia https://t.co/TZQtN8GA5S pic.twitter.com/cXQxCDZ5Vt
— The Advertiser (@theTiser) June 11, 2016
It is sad news for fans of the talented singer, but not wholly unsurprising given Johns’ utter openness and transparency with regards to his ongoing battles with anxiety and depression and his battle with anorexia nervosa back in 1997.
However, it’s his current public appearances in Sydney that the Tele detail with the most curiosity.
Top Comments
Good on him for saying no. Best thing you can do. He doesn't owe anyone anything and he's the only one that has to live his life so he should live that life in his best interests, not others. I hope the next chapter is a peaceful, beautiful one for him and I am so grateful for the moments he gave us to share in his brilliant, talented glow.
I've been a fan of Silverchair and Daniel's other projects since day one. Talk is a brilliant album. Daniel has never sounded so good and been so true to his voice as on this album. I hope he gets the help he needs and revels in the relative anonymity he can find in LA - and makes more music!