Burgess: 'I ran marathons on ecstasy'

Charlatans singer Tim Burgess has admitted to running marathons while on ecstasy when he was younger.

The veteran rocker claimed his band was confident that between 1994-97 they were the "biggest drug-takers" in the music industry.

He also revealed that the reason that the group spent so much time working on albums during that period was that they were taking "way, way too many drugs".

Burgess told Uncut magazine: "We were doing a lot of speed, ecstasy, coke and skunk.

"But, while all that was going on, I'd be running marathons in my spare time. There's nothing quite like running a marathon when you're off your head on E.

"I look back on those times with great fondness."

The frontman claimed that the only reason he decided to stop taking illegal substances was that he didn't want to end up "fat" like Elvis Presley.

He added: "I found myself going through a Jim Morrison/Elvis stage, feeling all fat and horrible. Also, I started having problems with my liver and kidneys.

"My body started telling me that enough was enough and I decided it was time to pay attention."