Rock musician Joe Walsh has opened up about the darkest decade of his life, the ten years following the Eagles' acrimonious split in 1980, during which he descended into severe substance abuse. Walsh explained that he was unwilling to accept the band's break-up and continued living the excessive rock and roll lifestyle long after it had stopped being sustainable, leading to a spiral of addiction that cost him his career momentum, his relationships and his sense of purpose.

Walsh has described his daily routine at the time as revolving entirely around vodka, cocaine and Camel Light cigarettes, with much of his energy spent chasing dealers willing to front him drugs he still owed money for. He said he gradually stopped writing music, became unreliable and alienated fellow musicians, until a frightening blackout on a flight to Paris in the early 1990s, after which he woke up with no memory of arriving, proved a turning point. With an Eagles reunion tour looming, Walsh entered rehabilitation and, with support from his former bandmates, recovered to rejoin the group.