Måneskin frontman Damiano David has revealed that he “fucking regrets” his decision to “shut down” speculation that he took cocaine on the set of Eurovision 2021, joking that it would have made for a a “legend”.

NME flew out to Verona to interview the Italian rock sensation for this week’s Big Read cover story. This week marks one year since the band were crowned victors of the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest, shortly before they made headlines when viewers thought they caught David snorting cocaine off a table in the green room. The band denied it and David passed a voluntary drugs test. Now, they’ve spoken out about the furore that surrounded it.

“I fucking regret my decision to shut it down!” David told NME, laughing. “I should have left it. Imagine if nobody knew if I did a line of blow in front of 80million people or not. That would have been a fucking legend! This year, I’d have done it again – in front of every fucking camera!”

He added: “I’ve never done coke in my life and I don’t think I ever will because my heart is too weak for that! And I’m too fucking stressed.”

After performing at the recent 2022 Eurovision grand final, David was asked for advice for this year’s contestants, to which he replied: “Have fun and don’t get close to the table, guys.”

The band also spoke about how young generations of music fans don’t care about how they were previously contestants on Eurovision and the Italian version of X Factor.

“Our generation doesn’t feel the urge to label everything,” said David. “They just want to enjoy your music, enjoy your journey and follow you in whatever you do. Harry Styles is the perfect example. He had the biggest fanbase with a boyband, and now is one of the most respected and worshipped artists in the world. He deserves it because he has been able to make that happen for himself. It’s literally what an artist should do: be true to yourself.”

Check out the full Big Read cover interview with Måneskin here, where they also talk about dealing with fame, their success in America, having breakfast with Coldplay‘s Chris Martin, work on their new album, their stance on playing covers, and the pleasure they take in “pissing off” naysayers.

Måneskin recently shared their new single ‘Supermodel’, before performing it on The Tonight Show in the US with host Jimmy Fallon joining the band on bass.

The band play Reading & Leeds Festival 2022 in August before headlining The O2 Arena in London on May 8. Visit here for tickets and more information.