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Saturday, 30 June 2007

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Steve Tyler: I'm a bad ad for the danger of drugs

Singer says his genes carried him through

Rocker Steve Tyler says people look at him and think it's OK to do drugs.

The Aerosmith frontman, 59, is in great health despite years of drug and alcohol abuse.

'People always look at us and think, "OK, they got away with it – why shouldn’t I?",' he says.

'The truth is it’s all in the genes. My Italian grandfather on my mother’s side had a full head of hair in his old age, and my paternal grandfather was this wiry Portuguese sailor.'

But bouts of drug-taking threatened to ruin Steve's career.

'When I was doing heroin it gave me a gravely voice and I just couldn’t hit the notes,' he tells the Independent, 'but I’m clean now, of course. I take great pride in not chickening out on the big notes.

'Of course I did way too many drugs…I sunk to my knees and lost everything, but I’m part Italian and my good old-fashioned guilt came up and I had to check in to rehab. The only way out is through.'