Flea says he convinced guitarist John Frusciante to rejoin Red Hot Chili Peppers

Virgin Radio

10 Mar 2022, 12:11

Fans of the Red Hot Chili Peppers were thrilled when John Frusciante rejoined the band, and we have Flea to thank.

It turns out the bassist persuaded guitarist John Frusciante to reunite with them.

He revealed he was spending time with John, when Flea told him that he missed playing music with him

Flea told Classic Rock Magazine: “We were just shooting the s***, talking, eating. We’d never really talked about [the split] much.

"At one point my wife and his girlfriend were in the other room and we were sitting alone, and I said: ‘John, sometimes I miss playing with you so much.’ And I started crying when I said it.”

John joined the band in 1988 before leaving in 1992 due to drug issues.

He rejoined in 1998 after going to rehab, before leaving again in 2009.

It was the emotional chat with Flea that made him rethink.

Flea added: “And [John] looked at me and I saw the tears in his eyes. And he said: ‘I miss it too.’ There was just this moment, but in that moment I remember thinking: Man, you know…”

Singer Anthony Kiedis agreed with Flea: "If your long-lost family member comes back and says: ‘Hey, I wanna rejoin the family,’ you have no choice. You cannot say no.”

Like John, Flea also struggled with fame with it first happened: “I became a mess when we got really famous. I fell apart, I became ill, I had chronic fatigue syndrome, I was miserable and sad, and I went through a period of seclusion and sadness.”

The band are back with a new album, and fans have been waiting a long time for the new music.