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Outlook: The music star who was born into a cult

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Mikel Jollett sings in to the microphone on a colourfully lit stage while playing his guitar

10/05/2021 GMT

The music star who was born into a cult

BBC World Service - Outlook, The music star who was born into a cult

Musician Mikel Jollett grew up in Synanon, a drug rehabilitation programme-turned-cult

Musician Mikel Jollett grew up in Synanon, a drug rehabilitation programme-turned-cult which took children away from their parents at just six months old.

Mikel Jollett started life in a California-based cult called Synanon. What began as a drug rehabilitation programme that helped his father kick a heroin addiction later turned into a cult where children were taken away from their parents at just six months old and married couples were forced to split up and take new partners. As the cult turned increasingly violent, Mikel’s mother managed to escape with him and his brother, but Mikel’s hardships didn’t end there. For years he never spoke about his childhood. It was only later - when he discovered a love for music and formed a successful band, The Airborne Toxic Event - that he began to open up and write about those early years. Mikel’s book is called Hollywood Park.

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(Photo: Mikel Jollett performs with The Airborne Toxic Event in 2015. Credit: Andrew Benge/Redferns/Getty Images)

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