Daniel Johns Opens Up About Car Crash In Emotional Interview

Daniel Johns has bared his soul in an interview with Channel 10s The Project. 

An emotional Johns opened up on a number of topics Carrie Bickmore and revealed deeply personal details concerning the state of his mental health, his relationship with music and the recent car crash that saw him plead guilty to high-range drink-driving charges. that saw him plead guilty.

The Silverchair singer and solo artist first walked off the set when Bickmore asked about the crash, before returning to the set and providing an unfiltered and emotional recount of the event and the profound impact it has had on him. 

Johns shared that he "thought he was going to die" in the car accident. He also revealed that he "would have killed himself" if anyone had been hurt in the crash. 

The 43-year-old also shared that he "can't play or listen to music" since the accident and the stint in rehab that followed it. He also stated that he was experiencing a "full-blown nervous breakdown" at the time of it. 

When Bickmore asked if he could remember the incident, Johns said that he can remember "everything, everything, I remember every detail" becoming overwhelmed with emotion as he spoke, Johns revealed "I remember being lost, I remember being lost. I remember being petrified. I remember being in the dark. I remember the colours. I remember - I even remember thinking, this is how I'm going to die." 

He also shared that he "can't play or listen to music" at the moment following his stint in rehab and that he would have 'killed himself" if he'd hurt anyone in the crash. 

Johns also went deep on a number of other topics including the pressure he put on himself to ensure that his recent solo record FutureNever was his masterpiece, saying that “I tend to spiral in self-doubt when making music, with FutureNever, I was looking at it as if it was my swan song. So, if it was the last thing people were ever going to hear, it needed to be a masterpiece in my head. And I’m not sure a masterpiece exists."

Johns who released his ARIA #1 solo record FutureNever earlier this year, also spoke to Bickmore about his relationship with his old bandmates. Johns doubled down on recent comments that he isn't likely to ever perform with them again, before giving a brutally honest recount of the state of their relationship. 

Johns alleged that one of his Silverchair bandmates has accused him of using his "mental health to sell records", and provided detailed insight into his perspective of their fractured relationships. 

“Bitterness, jealousy, anger, like anything. I don‘t have any bad feelings, but I know - I know bitterness and I know jealousy,” Johns said. “When I see it because I have seen it my whole life. That‘s what it is. One of the guys, in particular, has taken a real shining to kicking me while I was down and while I was in rehab and stuff. Saying I was exploiting mental health to sell records or something along those lines. If this is exposing mental health to sell records then it is the most genius marketing plan ever because I have been doing it since I was 17.”

Johns followed his recent comments about drummer Ben Gillies, “Ben, for some reason has a real issue with me being successful without him. That‘s sad. Because I wish him all the best honestly, but unfortunately he doesn‘t want me to branch out.”  

Johns also said that his relationship with bass player Chris Joannou is more "passive".

The full interview, held to promote his exhibition,  Daniel Johns: Past, Present and FutureNever can be viewed below.