Sir Elton John hails sobriety as one of his ‘greatest achievements’
Sir Elton John has confessed that quitting drugs and alcohol almost four decades ago remains one of his ‘greatest achievements’ in life.
The 79-year-old may have retired from touring, but that doesn’t mean he’s slowing down anytime soon.
Earlier this year, the British icon launched Elton John Zero Blanc de Blancs – a 0 percent sparkling wine co-created with his husband, David Furnish.
“Both David and I are teetotal, and we absolutely love to entertain. We wanted something that felt fitting to toast those celebratory moments in our life,” he told Hello! Magazine.
Advert
"I get approached all the time about putting my name to products and I’m very discerning. This just felt right.”
The five-time Grammy winner added: “The benchmark was always ‘would we serve this in our own home?’ and the answer was a resounding yes.”
The singer, who celebrated the 53rd anniversary of ‘Candle in the Wind’ this week, also informed the outlet that becoming sober in 1990 remains one of his greatest ever feats.
“I’ve been sober for 36 years and my life has never been better," he stated.
"I nearly lost everything through my addictions, and becoming sober has been one of my greatest achievements. I’ve been so lucky to have the life I’ve had and it keeps getting better."
The composer, who was born Reginald Dwight, attended Lutheran General Hospital in Chicago for a six week period after choosing to quit drugs and alcohol.
He joined Alcoholics Anonymous whilst receiving treatment—a habit he’s kept up throughout the rest of his life.
“My sobriety has brought me everything that I could possibly wish for,’ he told Variety in 2004.
In a 2019 interview with the publication, John revealed that his day-to-day life during the height of his addiction could never be considered as ‘normal’.
“The life I was leading — flying on [his legendary private plane] the Starship, living in beautiful houses, buying things left, right and center — it was not a normal life, not the sort of life I came from anyway. I lost complete touch with that.
"There were times I was having chest pains or staying up for three days at a time," he recalled. "I used to have spasms and be found on the floor and they'd put me back to bed and half an hour later I'd be doing the same. It’s crazy.”
If you've been affected by addiction and want to speak to someone in confidence, you can call American Addiction Centers on (888) 324-0595, available 24/7, or contact them through their website.
Sober celebrities
Tom Holland
Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s leading man has been open and honest about his root to sobriety.
"I didn't one day wake up and say, 'I'm giving up drinking.' I just - like many Brits - had had a very boozy December. Christmas time, I was on vacation, I was drinking a lot,” the 30-year-old told Jay Shetty on his *On Purpose* podcast.
As a result, he embarked on a ‘Dry January’ challenge—and he’s not looked back since.
“I could sleep better, I could handle problems better - things that would go wrong on set that would normally set me off, I could take in my stride,” The Odyssey star said.
Anne Hathaway
It’s been more than seven years since actress Anne Hathaway opted to quit drinking.
She vowed to cut out alcohol when her ten-year-old son Jonathan was just a toddler.
“I'm going to stop drinking while my son's living in my house just because I don't totally love the way I do it, and he's getting to an age where he really does need me all the time in the morning,” she said during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
She added that she experienced a hangover while dropping her child off at school: "That was enough for me. I didn't love that one.”
Daniel Radcliffe
Broadway darling and Harry Potter alumnus Daniel Radcliffe decided in the early 2010s that enough was enough; his alcohol dependence needed to come to an end.
Having used booze to cope with the intense anxiety and pressure of global stardom for years, the 37-year-old claimed it took a ‘couple of attempts’ before he was able to kick the habit for good.
“As much as I would love to be a person that goes to parties and has a couple of drinks and has a nice time - that doesn't work for me,” he said, as per I Am Sober.
“I do that very unsuccessfully. I'd just rather sit at home and read, or go out to dinner with someone, or talk to someone I love, or talk to somebody that makes me laugh.”
Mary J. Blige
‘Family Affair’ singer Mary J. Blige once admitted she was ‘dying’ after going cold turkey on feeding her alcohol and drug addictions.
“I just — it was either put up or shut up. It was two choices. It was: You want to live or you want to die?” she said, as reported by Vice.
“And so I prayed and I was like, ‘Lord, you’ve got to help me, you’ve got to send me someone that’s going to help me or send me a friend or something’.”
Her saving grace was apparenly her husband at the time, Kendu Issacs.
“And here he comes. And he just started questioning me and challenging me and not being afraid to go against me in a positive way up against that negative stuff.”
Ella Scott