Surprisingly, Scott Stapp hasn’t always been like this.
He was lead singer for the successful rock band Creed
who sold 40 million albums worldwide and their single
‘With Arms Wide Open’ won ‘Best Rock song of 2001’.
After Creed’s messy demise, he also released a solo
album, although his solo career was short-lived.
‘wanted to transform into
a ‘Kurt Cobain martyr
type’ to sell more records’
A former Creed sound engineer remarks that ‘Scott
was a cool, normal guy but fame caused the biggest
destruction of his personality. The more power he got,
the more corrupted he became.’ When Creed was
formed in 1993 everything seemed fine but after the
band’s third album (‘Weathered’), Stapp’s substance
abuse got worse. A year later in 2002 Stapp was arrested for reckless driving and during the tour for
‘Weathered’ he reportedly became addicted to Percocet (a prescription painkiller) and Xanax ( a drug used
to help with anxiety and panic disorders).
Drunk one night, Stapp thought that people wanted
him dead and wanted to transform into a ’Kurt Cobain
martyr type’ so that he could sell more records. He
was going to end his life when he saw a photo of his
son and decided against it. After that event he wisely
sobered up. However, this was short-lived as in 2004
Creed broke up due to personality clashes and Stapp’s
drug and alcohol abuse.
Scott Stapp hasn’t released any new solo material
since 2013 with his album ‘Proof of Life’.
‘fell forty feet off a hotel
balcony’
Recently, former Creed band members Brian Marshall
and Mark Tremonti have had their say on the frontman’s downfall. Marshall (former Creed bassist)
posted a message on social media: “It is obvious Scott
is not ‘ok’ and that he needs help and/or an intervention if he does not surrender to this disease before he
hurts himself or others”. Tremonti (former lead guitarist for Creed) also commented that he had ‘tried reaching out [to Scott] but didn’t have any success’. He also
said that he, as everyone else, is very worried about
Scott.
Although there haven’t been any events involving
Scott Stapp this year, his wife and family are trying
their hardest to get him the help that he needs.
“It is obvious that Scott is
not ok”
‘arrested for assaulting
his wife with an
Orangina bottle’
In 2005 the lead singer looked as if he was moving on
when he released his first solo material ‘The Great Divide’ yet this was contradicted as in the same year he
punched the drummer of 311 and accidently hit his
wife. A few days later, he appeared live on ‘Casino Cinema’ drunk and arrogant.
Things got worse in 2007 when he was arrested for
assaulting his wife with an Orangina bottle - he later
publicly apologised. Things were looking up again
when he released an autobiography in 2012 (‘Sinner’s
Creed’) yet in the promo for the book he attempted to
commit suicide and fell forty feet off a hotel balcony.
Mug shot: the face of a broken man
“The more power he got, the
more corrupted he became”
Photo Credits: Page 6: Scott Stapp: www.passionbreedsfollowers.com Page 7: Scott Stapp mug shot: www.the
smokinggun.com
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