RHCP Flea on his new memoir: I became entranced with the idea to find out the "why" of my early life

By the age of 12, Flea was smoking joints regularly, had acquired his nickname, based on his fidgety nature and diminutive stature, which made him develop - "an undying sense that something was wrong with me, that everyone else is clued into a group consciousness from which I am excluded”, he writes in his new memoir 'Acid for the Children'. It's mostly about Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist's childhood, but he also touches his relationships with band's singer Anthony Kiedis, and former guitarist Hillel Slovak, who died of heroin. He expresses gratitude to the LA gay community - "the first ones to really embrace the Chili Peppers”, and, in a Guardian interview, explains later emphasis on nudity and primitivism in the Chili Peppers’ presentation -“I grew up running around naked. There’s a freedom inherent in it, a rebelliousness, that I find beautiful”. The book is out now.