Lady Gaga inspired by drugs

The Poker Face singer began using illegal substances after she dropped out of a music course at New York University in 2005, and she insists getting high helped her creativity.

The 24-year-old pop star said: "[Using drugs,] I really figured out the art I wanted to make and was inspired. Some people find inspiration in dark places. I guess I'm one of them.

"What always made me different is that if I was doing drugs I was also making music. I wasn't just doing drugs."

The eccentric singer, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, also revealed her mother Cynthia didn't understand why she felt she needed to take drugs and was confused by her early performances.

She told Q magazine: "At the beginning I was doing performance art in handmade leather and leopard bikinis talking about…Andy Warhol and heavy metal. My mom was like, 'You've lost your mind.' I was doing drugs, I was really out of control. But I never got so far into it that I overdosed or anything."

However, Gaga is adamant she doesn't need drugs anymore and has toned down her wild lifestyle.

She explained: "Once you open those doors they're open for ever…I'm not some chick on the road getting high…every night. I wake up, drink coffee and get on the phone to talk about the creative direction of the next video."

The singer caused a furore recently when she admitted in a magazine interview she occasionally took cocaine.

She said: "I won't lie; it's occasional. And when I say occasional, I mean maybe a couple of times a year."

* 24 facts: Lady Gaga