Lady Gaga has revealed that she went through a traumatic childhood in her bid to follow in the footsteps of some of music's biggest names.

The singer made the admission during an interview with the rock journalist Neil Strauss for a new book.

Speaking about her formative years, Lady Gaga said: "I didn't have a bad childhood. All of the things I went through were on my own quest for an artistic journey to f*ck myself up like Warhol and Bowie and Mick, and just go for it.

"All of the trauma I caused to myself. Or it was caused by people that I met when being outrageous and irresponsible.”

Lady Gaga also spoke about her drug abuse, recalling that her apartment contained “mirrors with cocaine everywhere”.

But Strauss told Radar Online that he did not believe Lady Gaga's drug problems were serious because she was able to “stop herself without going to rehab or having treatment”.

The journalist's book Everyone Loves You When You Are Dead is released later this month.

(by Jason Gregory)