The Script's Danny O'Donoghue has said he went "off the rails" after the shock death of bandmate Mark Sheehan.
Sheehan, who formed the band alongside frontman O'Donoghue and drummer Glen Power, died in April last year aged 46 following a brief illness.
O'Donoghue told Virgin Media One's Six O'Clock Show that he went "heavy on drinking" following Sheehan's death.
"I went off the rails after Mark passed. I went heavy on drinking, smoking and eating crap food, really went off the rails.
"I had writers block, a mental block because I could not articulate what was going on because everything comes into question – not just should we carry on as a band, but is there a God? Why? There is no answers to these questions.
"I was trying to contemplate on the lyrics and the only thing I could write about Mark was 'like a shooting star across the sky, in a second you were gone, but why do stars that light up twice as bright, only burn for half as long.'
"It was the first time I got that thorn out of my side, what I wanted to articulate about the guy. Its always the great ones that go too soon – partly explains why I am still here.
"From there the floodgates opened for me creatively and musically... Music to me is healing and it is an incredible gift to have to go to in your darkest moments."
His comments come as The Script announced a new album and world tour, which will include a date at Dublin's 3Arena.
The band will release their new album Satellites on August 16th, with their new single Both Ways released on Friday.
The Script will perform at the 3Arena on November 15th, and will play the SSE Arena in Belfast two days earlier.
The band were formed in Dublin in 2001.
Their eponymous debut album was released in 2008 and it went to number one in both the UK and Ireland.
It featured hits such as We Cry, Breakeven, and The Man Who Can’t Be Moved, with the latter peaking at number two in the UK singles charts.
The Script have released six studio albums and one compilation project, Tales From The Script – Greatest Hits, which dropped in 2021.
