Veteran British pop star Adam Ant holds his violent father largely responsible for his mental instability. The singer, real name STUART LESLIE GODDARD, was plagued with mental illness throughout his early career and even came close to killing himself. He suffered a breakdown in 1994 and was officially diagnosed with manic depression in 2002. The 51-year-old recalls how his father often turned to violence when drunk, and blames the episodes for many of his own problems. He says, "He was an alcoholic, my dad. He was a very nice guy when he was sober, but when he was drunk he transformed into a really horrible person and would beat my mum and make the whole place very hostile, very scary for everybody concerned. "That, I think, led to a lot of grey areas in my life: a lot of tension and a lot of mental problems."