In an exclusive interview with ‘Hardisty and Needle’ on FUBAR Radio, singer Joseph Coward spoke about his youth growing up in a cult.
Coward grew up in a family that followed the Newfrontiers International Church, and left when he was 18 years old.
“It took about couple of years, in total, to totally get my head around it, and I ended up having a bit of a breakdown… It was part of my reality, and it just disappeared.”
“It takes a lot of re-education, and new ways of thinking, but ultimately it was a positive thing to do.”
He was restricted from reading books that contained horror or magic, such as the classic Goosebumps series. Coward recalled finding members of the church burning Harry Potter books.
“I saw smoke coming from the patio on the other side of the house, and I thought ‘Oh right it’s summer so they’re probably having a barbecue’…They did have a barbecue on, but they were burning books.”
“At the time, I think I was about 9 or 10, and I thought [that] they didn’t like the books and they’re burning them, not understanding the historical context of burning books.”
Joseph Coward’s second LP is soon to be announced.
You can find him on social media, and keep up to date on his music through his website: http://josephcoward.co.uk
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