The `Do You Really want To Hurt Me` singer spent four months in jail - after being convicted of the assault and false imprisonment of male escort Audun Carlsen in December 2008 - and admits his time behind bars gave him a chance to reflect on his life.
He said: "That gave me a really strong place from which to encounter it. I got a job in the kitchen, had my own cell and made friends. I had to get used to being with me, learn to sort of like myself again.
"That`s the most terrifying thing about prison. I was only there about four months, but when it was time to go home I was thinking: `Oh my God, I`ve got to go out of here and deal with my life. I am not sure I want to leave!`
"Once you get clear and get your head screwed on, you see the potential. You look at what you are doing and your behaviour. There was a big shift in me. I just thought, `You are f**king around. And you can`t any more.`" George - who has been sober for over two years - admits he?s done a lot of bad things in his past but now only concentrates on the present.
He told The Observer newspaper: "It doesn`t matter what has happened in my life. Right now, I am proud of myself. That`s a great place to be. A really wonderful place to be."
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