Fame Academy winner David Sneddon became 'recluse' after struggling with pressures of fame
dailyrecord.co.ukFame Academy winner David Sneddon has admitted he became a recluse to escape the pressures of fame. The singer-songwriter was catapulted to stardom after taking first place in the BBC reality series in 2002, winning with 3.5million votes.
He went on to release a No1 single with Stop Living The Lie and a top 10 album but then disappeared from view, instead concentrating on writing for other artists.Now 20 years on, the Paisley-born musician has said he disliked the showbusiness lifestyle and should have sought counselling at the time.He said he drank every night for six months after winning the show and got into “several scrapes”.Now 43 and a married dad of two, he has been living in London for the past two decades and has shunned public appearances but has carved a successful career writing for stars such as Lana Del Rey and Lewis Capaldi.Speaking to presenter Sean McDonald on his Blethered podcast, he said: “I made a really, really conscious decision back then just to disappear.
I wanted my anonymity back, I didn’t want to be famous and I have pretty much become a recluse.“The year before last was the first time I ever got social media.“I’ve got an Instagram account that I very rarely engage with so I suppose there are folk who go ‘Whatever happened to David Sneddon?’”He added: “I am never somebody who has suffered from anxiety or panic attacks because I don’t think I take myself very seriously.
But if we talked about mental health back then the way we do now I can see in that six months after Fame Academy I should have been speaking to somebody about how I was feeling...
Read more on dailyrecord.co.uk
