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Healthy diet, Healthy Lifestyle, Quitting alcohol 563 Comments on I was Addicted (to Fisherman’s Friends) – Confessions of a Singer

I was Addicted (to Fisherman’s Friends) – Confessions of a Singer

By Chris James · On November 30, 2016 ·Photography by Emilia Pettinato

If you go to any musicians’ or singers’ LinkedIn threads, or community singers’ forums, you will always find when there is a discussion about what singers take to keep going, the mention of a ubiquitous throat lozenge, Fisherman’s Friends. Strange little flat oval tablets that are so strong they singe the hair off your nostrils when you breathe out and cauterise your throat so that you can carry on singing.

I was addicted to these, famously so, to the point where students and participants at my expression courses and retreats would find bigger and bigger boxes of these potent little things to give me. I used to suck them all the time. In fact, if I didn’t have them, I would feel quite a bit of mental discomfort, feel that my throat would clog up and get a bit raspy. I would have to clear my throat a lot, and generally singing wasn’t as enjoyable. In fact, when it comes down to it, I really felt that I needed these things to keep singing.

Then about 14 years ago, a very good friend gave me what I thought was some very strange advice… and that was just to try giving up gluten and dairy in my diet. Well, the first thing that happened was that I gained at least another half an octave of vocal range. Of course there was a bit of ‘letting go’ that had to happen as I had some smaller addictions (not as bad as the Fisherman’s Friends) like French baguettes, butter, and Brie cheese… preferably all together, in equal quantities.

Along the way, lots of other lifestyle choices opened up to me that I also had never considered – like not drinking alcohol any more, or smoking anything. This was all a very natural evolution. I started to feel more balanced and natural and found my own rhythmical way of living that actually supported my body and my music.

Along the way, I also took off 45kg of weight. I can barely lift 20kg nowadays  – just imagine having a 45kg sack strapped to your back and carrying that on stage every time you had to sing and perform. So you could say that I have chosen to let go of a lot of stuff, so to speak, and the effect has been quite extraordinary. I am 64 now and I was singing at a festival recently, and really, really enjoying the feeling and sound of my voice. It felt effortless, unlimited; it felt like it could reach any note wherever I wanted to go, almost angelic in its quality, but with a strength and clarity. I was deeply appreciative of how it felt, and the journey that had got me there.

And guess what? I also realised that I had kicked the habit of Fisherman’s Friends, and that the best friend for my voice was simply me being truly me.

By Chris James, Singer/Musician/Voice teacher, McLeans Ridges, NSW, Australia

Further Reading:
How I Lost Weight: Sustaining a Weight Loss of 12 Stone & Counting…
The 6 best ways to lose weight authentically (hint: it doesn’t involve fad diets or gym memberships)
Addicted? Who? Me?

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Chris James

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563 Comments

  • Mary Adler says: March 23, 2020 at 4:22 pm

    Interesting that in giving up something you gain so much more.

    Reply
  • Greg Barnes says: November 26, 2019 at 8:15 pm

    Amazing is it not to change, then feel, and then deepen, and feel, and then the changes become natural, as then flow into every area of our lives, and before we know it those who were considered friends have dropped out of sight, as you have shared Chris.

    Reply
  • SLC says: October 20, 2019 at 6:41 am

    The difference in my voice is quite astounding when I am speaking from my head or my body, when I speak from the body I know my place in my universe, when I speak from head I can at best guess I am ok.

    Reply
  • Michelle McWqaters says: June 28, 2019 at 4:41 am

    ‘I also realised that I had kicked the habit of Fisherman’s Friends, and that the best friend for my voice was simply me being truly me.’ The best friend, not just for your voice and yourself, but for all those you can now support with such gentle, humorous and beholding authority because of your deepening appreciation of yourself, who you are and what you so gorgeously innately bring by being who you are.

    Reply
  • Greg Barnes says: June 25, 2019 at 4:19 am

    Thank you Chris, a much needed conversation!, and adding to what you have shared, so much is gained by letting go, and I would imagine if we were to start again from scratch and dropped everything we were eating for a few months, then start again a-fresh, with an understanding that our body will share what works for us then our way of eating would not be a diet but what serves our bodies. This then raises another question! would we need super markets in their current configuration?

    Reply
  • Jonathan Stewart says: January 2, 2019 at 5:28 am

    “……. the best friend for my voice was simply me being truly me” and not only for one’s voice but for one’s whole being and way of living.

    Reply
  • Christoph Schnelle says: November 22, 2018 at 4:50 am

    That is an amazing improvement and at an age where many people just try to manage their decline. Clearly decline isn’t necessary from your experience, Chris.

    Reply
    • Greg Barnes says: June 25, 2019 at 4:22 am

      So true Christoph, our evolution never stops ,and it is up to us all to step up and live in a True way to maximise our age.

      Reply
  • Carolien Braakenburg says: November 9, 2018 at 5:11 pm

    Our Voice is a great indicator to how connected we are or not and to what effects our life choices. The workshops Chris presents gives the participants a personal experience of this.

    Reply
  • Joshua Campbell says: November 8, 2018 at 3:00 am

    Interesting you would have mental discomfort when you did not have your Fisherman’s Friends fix and not bodily discomfort. Indeed our additions may be very physical but they are entirely in our mind and never the truth of our body.

    Reply
  • Samantha Davidson says: November 6, 2018 at 4:30 am

    My voice continues to change, it deepens, lightens, the vibrational quality of it, feels more humorous, loving, expansive…some years ago I had a tight, shrill voice, but no more…I can go into that every now and then, but I feel greatly reduced when I chose it. This voice that is growing and changing is coming from how I live, and how I am with myself, it is deeply healing to feel the power of learning to express who we are in truth and not hiding.

    Reply
    • Lorraine Wellman says: January 23, 2019 at 4:04 pm

      How we are, and how we live affects our voice, and all of our body, our well-being, as you discovered Samantha.

      Reply
  • Sandra Vicary says: November 5, 2018 at 9:37 am

    Amazing that by cutting out certain foods from your diet had such an impact on your vocal range Chris. What we eat and how our voice sounds either speaking or singing is not something we would usually associate together, but evidently this is something that we could all consider. Perhaps our true voice is still hiding deep within us, not yet heard, but surely there deep within, waiting to be discovered.

    Reply
  • Danna Elmalah says: October 25, 2018 at 10:19 pm

    How addictions can sit in the way of us shining bright.

    Reply
  • Fiona Pierce says: October 15, 2018 at 5:55 pm

    It’s beautiful how being more aware of how one thing had been affecting you and the difference you felt from letting it go naturally opened up more potential supportive lifestyle choices.

    Reply
  • Leigh Matson says: October 13, 2018 at 5:54 pm

    If we can feel the quality of how we live when we sing then for those who say they can’t sing or hate their voice. Is that true or is it the life led they don’t want to feel? Like our relationship to having our picture taken.

    Reply
    • Christoph Schnelle says: November 22, 2018 at 4:51 am

      There are a lot of things that can hold us back from singing – whether we have a beautiful voice or not and working through these can be very freeing.

      Reply
  • Samantha Davidson says: September 28, 2018 at 2:47 pm

    It is interesting to be honest and open to the things we use to get through our days, be it fishermen friends coffee, alcohol, emotional drama, sugar etc… instead of just assuming that we need them to get through our days. Questioning our habits is essential.

    Reply
  • Sarah Flenley says: September 23, 2018 at 5:58 am

    We clog ourselves up so much – more than we actually realise. And it is only when we start to unclog that we discover our true selves underneath it all.

    Reply
    • Alexis Stewart says: September 28, 2019 at 6:43 am

      Sarah ‘clogged up’ is a great description of what we are, we are so totally clogged up with everything we are not that we have lost sight of who we all are. Thank goodness who we all are can never be erased but only temporarily obscured from view.

      Reply
  • Samantha Davidson says: August 24, 2018 at 4:30 pm

    Our voice can change through what we consume…..it is not something many of us thing about, I know singers are aware of dairy, but usually I have heard hold back for a couple of days before a performance, but this looks at it form a deeper more meaningful angle, I love it.

    Reply
  • Mary Adler says: August 20, 2018 at 2:28 pm

    A beautiful lesson in discerning a true friend – or not.

    Reply
  • Chan Ly says: August 16, 2018 at 6:48 am

    Amazing Chris! This is a beautiful example of what self-love and committing to being who you are led to deep healing. You are an inspiration for us all and your ability to give up your addiction sounds like it was effortless due to your commitment to love.

    Reply
  • Sandra Vicary says: August 10, 2018 at 3:28 am

    Its often those first steps that are the hardest when attempting to give something up. But once we start to feel the effects of a certain food or drink on our body, it becomes very simple to cut it out of the diet, as the body is very quick to send a message about how the discomfort it feels.

    Reply
  • Annelies van Haastrecht says: July 26, 2018 at 5:17 am

    And Chris your playfulness has become even more play full, no one can deny the joy in your eyes and face. It is simply the truth of living the real you they/we get.

    Reply
  • Lucy Dahill says: July 20, 2018 at 11:42 am

    Oh I love that Chris, I remember trying one once and yes, it singed my nostril hairs and I never went back – to consider this was all part and parcel of being able to sing better – it just goes to show what lengths we will go to for what we want.

    Reply
  • Carola Woods says: July 1, 2018 at 5:02 am

    Chris you are a stunning example of what it is to sing with connection and the fact that the greater the connection to our essence, our Soul the greater the power and grace is so effortlessly and naturally expressed through our voice.

    Reply
  • Jill Steiner says: June 29, 2018 at 7:41 pm

    One loving step leads to another and then another, until all that is not loving falls naturally away, leaving us with the love and truth of who we really are.

    Reply
    • Chan Ly says: August 16, 2018 at 6:54 am

      Very beautiful Jill and nothing beats feeling and living all of who we are. The more we embrace the love we are, the more we have to share with the world. It is our responsibility to live love not only for ourselves but for the rest of humanity as well because everything we choose impacts on the rest of the universe.

      Reply
      • Lorraine Wellman says: January 24, 2019 at 4:16 pm

        Living and embracing the love we are allows all that is not love to naturally fall away, I love the simplicity of this Jill, ‘all that is not loving falls naturally away, leaving us with the love and truth of who we really are.’

        Reply
  • Liane Mandalis says: June 29, 2018 at 4:39 am

    Our voice box either amplifies ‘all that we are’, or it ‘amplifies all that we are not’, depending on the choice of energy we are aligned to: Soul or spirit. The former, being our true self, is a silky expression that falls out of us with no effort. The latter is a strain to maintain.

    Reply
    • Bryony says: September 25, 2018 at 5:43 pm

      Yes..we feel the difference in our own bodies – a surrendered silkiness, or force and strain – and also notice it in others, through pitch, tone, body movements.

      Reply
  • Fiona Pierce says: June 26, 2018 at 6:15 pm

    “I was deeply appreciative of how it felt, and the journey that had got me there.” – I think this is really important, allowing ourselves to value and appreciate when something feels truly good, like we’re genuinely being ourselves and expressing that and appreciating how we got there, and by appreciating it can help to make it a new standard in our way of living…

    Reply
    • Samantha Davidson says: September 28, 2018 at 2:49 pm

      I love this and I take the advice, acceptance and appreciation are key and often lacking, we can make such amazing changes in our lives, but the foundation of these choices are found in accepting and appreciating all that we are and all that we choose.

      Reply
  • Adele Leung says: June 23, 2018 at 8:39 am

    I realise many people would not understand what it means to be themselves, and honestly we shouldn’t until we can feel that in our bodies, and with the supportive and clear environment we can absolutely feel much more.

    Reply
    • Carolien Braakenburg says: November 9, 2018 at 5:16 pm

      This is a (rather sad) fact Adele, that most do not understand what it means to be themselves. Of those who come to realise they are not themselves many will go searching for ‘who they are’. The only way to discover this though is to connect deeply into our body and from there start to discard all that we can nominate as being not us. A vast difference to looking outside of ourselves to determine new parameters to identify ourselves with.

      Reply
  • Sam says: June 22, 2018 at 6:32 am

    What a great reflection you are to others Chris, when we see someone living so simply and so naturally healthy – one can not help but be inspired.

    Reply
  • Sam says: May 20, 2018 at 5:27 am

    Chris this is testament to the fact that we can take one small step towards true love and our whole world changes.

    Reply
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