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5 min readLaust Sonne: From Rock Star to Recovery
"I go to the hospital and hear voices, and I talk to God, and I feel damned, and it gets more and more wrong. And in the end, it ends with Maria simply putting me in the closed department."
Laust Sonne joined D.A.D. in 1999, stepping into one of Denmark's biggest bands without knowing much about their history. He had spent four years in London and Los Angeles trying to make his own music, and when his brother recommended him for the drummer position, he was hesitant. The other band members were ten years older and had been in the business for fifteen years. He agreed to try, but didn't expect it to last. More than 25 years later, he describes periods where D.A.D. completely takes over his life—especially during their 40th anniversary year, when the band had an exhibition at the National Museum. Fans travelled from Northern Jutland without sleeping just to attend. For Sonne, becoming a museum exhibit felt "both completely right and completely wrong at the same time"—the band that emerged from punk's anti-authoritarian spirit was now part of the establishment.
The slow slide into addiction
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:02) **Psychosis and Hospitalization** - Laust describes the moment his drug-induced psychosis escalates, hearing voices and feeling damned, leading to his wife Maria committing him to a closed psychiatric ward.
- 2 (00:20) **Joining D.A.D. and Early Career** - Laust explains how he joined the band in 1999 after returning from Los Angeles, initially reluctant due to the age gap and lack of familiarity with the band's history.
- 3 (02:02) **Becoming a Museum Exhibit** - The band's 40-year anniversary exhibition at the National Museum felt surreal and contradictory to their punk, anti-establishment roots.
- 4 (04:44) **The Rock Star Button and Addiction** - Laust discusses the challenge of turning off the "rock star button" at home, which led to a 20-year addiction to alcohol and cocaine.
- 5 (06:54) **Origin of Substance Use** - He traces his use back to age 12-13, using alcohol to overcome low self-esteem and social anxiety.
- 6 (09:12) **The Slip into Dependency** - Cocaine use escalated from occasional to a physical dependency where drinking alcohol automatically triggered a need for cocaine.
- 7 (10:06) **Industry Culture and Denial** - Laust confirms that substance use is still widespread in the music industry, and he was in total denial about his own addiction, believing he had it under control.
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Show Notes
Som trommeslager i D-A-D har han levet rockstjernelivet, men bag facaden gemte sig misbrug, utroskab og psykiske sammenbrud. Sammen med sin hustru, Maria Erwolter, har han fortalt hele historien i deres dobbeltbiografi Laust og Maria.
Især vendepunktet med psykosen og indlæggelsen står som et afgørende øjeblik. Frygten for pressen, følelsen af en “genfødsel” og kampen for at finde tilbage til kærligheden præger hans fortælling.
Lyt med til en rå og ærlig samtale om misbrug, afhængighed, tro, håb – og om at turde elske.
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