ALBERT Hammond Jr is now onto his second life.

The first, of course, was spent as the lead guitarist in one of the biggest rock bands of the millennium, The Strokes.

The second, as a solo artist and frontman, currently promoting his fourth album Francis Trouble.

The 38-year-old is keen to distance himself from the work of his band, insisting that the use of an alter-ego on the record acted as the “ultimate reset button” for him.

Francis Trouble is named after Hammond’s stillborn twin, written after he found out a lone fingernail from Francis had been born alongside him.

Despite the morbid nature of the record, the musician is surprising upbeat.

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“It doesn’t feel personal, but I don’t know if I’m just a psychopath. The biggest thing about sharing isn’t that it’s personal - it’s that the more you talk about something, you kind of lose it but other people gain it.

“It’s like taking photos, there’s no problem taking your photo but eventually, if you take so many photos, you kind of lose a bit of yourself in it.”

At this point in our chat, Hammond alludes to a quote by Lebanese-American writer Khalil Gibran, which he unearths further through the phone call.

“Here it is", he says. "And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered. For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly."

It seems the creation of Francis has helped Hammond distance himself from the traumatic event, but has also allowed him to leave behind restraints which previously hindered him - including his identity.

Having been named after his father, Albert Hammond Snr (responsible for songs including Starship’s Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now and One Moment In Time performed by Whitney Houston), identity is a topic that has followed the musician his whole life.

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Taking on the persona of Francis has allowed Hammond to escape his name and past, which involved an all-consuming heroin addiction.

“That’s what the twin element of it was”, he explains.

“I like the idea of not having your name because your name has so much baggage, especially through being in the media and being the band.

“It’s something that you didn’t feel like you were just that.

“You were typecast - so the birth of the alter-ego was like starting again and it was more of a thematic ark that I could use making music. I’ve already started volume two - it’s the ultimate reset button.

“It’s exciting to have a new outlook on things.”

As part of Hammond’s second, sober life, he opted into therapy where he worked with psychotherapist Andrew Park.

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The album has been dedicated to Park following his passing in 2016.

He explains: “He became more a mentor and a father figure, because when you begin life again like I did, you’re starting from scratch.

“You’re relearning things that you would’ve learned as a kid.

“So he was definitely the adult man in my life - in my second life.”

After years of touring, Hammond is finally seeing results through chart positions and the number of people coming to his shows.

His three previous records saw him ‘learning’ what kind of frontman he wanted to be while onstage. Now, he knows.

“You always learn on the road what’s missing from certain songs or what you want to do. My three records beforehand was me learning in front of people what kind of frontman I wanted to be and what I wanted to perform and what kind of songs it needed to be.

“It started with me wanting to grow and realising if I didn’t finish the demos I would never grow and I wanted to become more than that.

"It’s not that anymore - I’ve put out records because I wanted to be a performer that filled arenas.

“When I opened for The Killers before the new songs came out it was like all of a sudden without even trying the way I felt and my presence and how they filled the room, changed.

“If you’ve seen me before you will walk away with a whole new side of me and if you haven’t, you won’t forget me.”

  • Albert Hammond Jnr plays SWG3 on September 12.