Keane to see him clean.

I wanted to put an entry about this the moment I first heard it, but I've been having a few problems with my Internet connection of late. Which is typical, as it has been burning up inside me the last few days, crying out to be written.

The news a few days ago that Tom Chaplin had gone into rehab was a real shock to me, as I'm sure it was to a lot of people. No doubt Tom and his bandmates would agree that out of all the possible candidates for a spell in the Priory, his name would be well down the list, if on there at all. Seeing it mentioned on Sky News the first time saddened me- I knew he'd got problems, but drink and drugs? Never saw that one coming. For the rest of the day, whenever it was mentioned on the news, the net or in the papers, I was thinking "poor lad", although there was another part of me that was thinking "you stupid idiot", as well.

I don’t know Tom personally, but I know enough about him from interviews, TV appearances and their DVDs to know that he, like Tim and Richard, is a down to earth, decent, all round good bloke. If there's one thing I hate, it's seeing a good person, famous or not, going through such a shit time and I know I'm not the only one. Anyone who takes pleasure in seeing someone like him in that kind of situation is a complete moron in desperate need of a reality check.

If there's one thing that's been learned from all this; it's that even the most ordinary, level headed individual can lose their way at times. Where I work, I regularly come into contact with alcoholics, drug addicts and people with mental illnesses. The vast majority of these people are not mad, potty mouthed, screwed up deadlegs but normal, decent people. To his credit, Tom has admitted that he has a problem and has sought treatment for it now, rather than put it off and make things worse for himself. It takes a lot of guts to admit you have one, even more to go and do something about it. While it has meant that the band have had to cancel a few gigs, the majority of fans recognise that the health and well being of Tom and the band as a whole is paramount.

In the meantime, I, like many others, hope that Tom gets well soon and that he returns to the stage fit, healthy and happy.