People News

Katy Perry's Acid-dropping groupie parents

Oct 9, 2008, 9:55 GMT

US singer Katy Perry poses for photographs in Sydney, Australia, 09 October, 2008. Perry is performing in Sydney and Melbourne as well as promoting her album One of the Boys. EPA/TRACEY NEARMY

Katy Perry's claims her mother once dated Jimi Hendrix and her father dealt drugs.

The 'I Kissed a Girl' singer - who was raised as a strict Christian by her parents Mary and Keith, who are preachers in California - has revealed her parents are not as squeaky clean as it seems, adding they were "wild" in their youth.

She said: "In terms of wild youth, they put me to shame."

The 23-year-old singer explained her mother grew up in Southern California but became bored of her life and ran away to see the world, resulting in a rocky first marriage in Zimbabwe.

Katy added Mary dated rock legend Jimi while she was in Spain, saying: "He just came up to her in a club and picked her out."

The star also revealed her father was a hippy when he was growing up in the 60s and was close friends with Timothy Leary, who championed psychedelic drug LSD.

Katy claims her dad used to supply others with the drug, and specialised in providing a type called Strawberry Fields - named after The Beatles track of the same name.

She added to Blender magazine: "I started spending Sunday mornings crying and hung over, because crying is what you do when you're hung over. So my dad started telling me about when he was my age.

"My dad would have died from one tab of Strawberry Fields too many if he hadn't found God."

Earlier this year, Katy's mother branded her song 'I Kissed a Girl' "shameful and disgusting" and said she was "disappointed" her daughter was promoting homosexuality.

Mary said: "I can't even listen to that song. The first time I heard it I was in total shock. It promotes homosexuality and its message is shameful and disgusting. When it comes on the radio I bow my head and pray."