'It Did My Head In': Bert McCracken Talks Quitting The Used After Early Success

The Used are gearing up to release their eighth studio album this month but Bert McCracken has opened up on how the band's early success led the singer to quit temporarily. 

Appearing on the latest episode of The Green Room with Neil Griffiths podcast, McCracken discussed being a "livewire" in his younger days.

"I quit the band the first record (2002's self-titled album) and, like, disappeared to Santa Barbara for a couple of weeks 'til they found me," he told host Neil Griffiths.

"Just things that I can't even really relate to or comprehend now being an adult with children."

The now-38-year-old frontman said the decision to quit came due to the attention The Used were receiving.

"All of my favourite bands at that time and before that didn't have any stuff on the radio. It just seemed like a big, big jump for us," he said.

"It just seemed like a lot of people were saying a lot of stuff that maybe I just couldn't believe at the time. We had an A&R guy at Warner Brothers who was just so obsessed with the band.

"So many people telling you how great you are, it just did my head in... I didn't want to hear any of that.

"What I understood to be music was something different - in a small club with a bunch of kids who were trying to get on the stage."

Check out the full The Green Room episode with McCracken on Spotify, Apple Podcasts (below) or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.

The Used's new album, Heartwork, will be released on 24 April.