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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Rosamund Brennan

John Butler: ‘For 25 years I ripped my heart out on stage … now I’m paying the piper’

Butler in front of a wall painted with black and white triangles
Musician John Butler in Mouat Street, Fremantle. His eighth studio album Running River is out now. Photograph: Frances Andrijich/The Guardian

Four years ago John Butler was recording his eighth studio album when something out of character happened: he gave up.

“My anxiety peaked out,” the roots rock musician says. “It’s something I worked on for three years and I couldn’t fix or finish it. I was like, ‘I don’t know how to do this?’ I felt out of my depth. I lost my confidence and I walked away.”

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