Former Elastica singer Justine Frischmann has spoken out how ‘pressure, alcohol and youth’ led to her and Damon Albarn splitting up in the ’90s.

Frischmann and the Blur frontman were in a relationship for seven years between 1991 and 1998, while both were leading figures at the height of Britpop. Now in a new interview with The Times, the singer turned artists has opened up about the stresses that the couple faced.

“I think it’s hard for anyone to survive tabloid attention, and we were kids,” she said. “We were just kids and we didn’t know what we were doing.


“We were were under a lot of pressure and we didn’t see a great deal of each other once everything started up. And he was drinking a lot. It was chaotic and, looking back, we just couldn’t have survived it. We weren’t mature enough.”

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Earlier this year, Frischmann said that it was ‘hard’ for Albarn to accept her band’s success in America.

“I think it was hard for Damon when Elastica started getting some success in America,” said Frischmann. “It’s funny because we both thought we were too evolved for classic gender roles, but looking back he thought his band more important because he was the guy. And on some level I did, too.”

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Frischmann also revealed that she was ‘tempted’ when MIA asked Elastica to reform to perform at the upcoming Meltdown Festival in London.