10 musicians who don't drink

1 January 2024, 12:00

Need some inspiration for Dry January? These are the artists who've forsaken the booze for a healthier lifestyle.

By Radio X

@RadioX

Some have given up alcohol for health reasons, some have just never fancied it... but here are 10 musicians who've decided that the rock'n'roll lifestyle doesn't need to come with a hangover. If you're doing Dry January, good luck!

1. Elton John

   Elton's recent autobiography was extremely candid about his punishing cocaine addiction, which led to some sorry stories. On 29 July 2020, he marked three decades of sobriety, saying "I’m truly a blessed man. If I hadn’t finally taken the big step of asking for help 30 years ago, I’d be dead."

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2. Anthony Kiedis

   The Chili Peppers' collective struggle with Bad Things is well documented, most notably in Anthony Kiedis's autobiography Scar Tissue. Original guitarist Hillel Slovak died of a heroin overdose in 1988, so it's just as well the band have overcome their demons. "I felt whole by putting these things in me, until I had to pay the toll," he explained in an interview in 2022.

   

3. Ozzy Osbourne

   Ozzy is famous for his partying days. But health issues including a form of Parkinson's Disease mean he doesn’t drink a drop any more. In 2018, he marked five years sober, saying: "I got to a point where I ran out of options... I’ve got to learn to live life on life’s terms.”

   

4. Florence Welch

   Flo's last drink was on 2 February 2014 after years of overdoing it. She told Rolling Stone: "Being an extreme drinker was a huge part of my identity. When I stopped, there was this sense that I was letting some ghost of rock history down that I just couldn’t cope anymore. It was monumental. It was like, 'I’m going to die. I need to stop'."

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5. Lana Del Rey

   The Video Games singer told GQ magazine in 2012 that she was sent to boarding school at the age of 14 to "get sober": "I would drink every day. I would drink alone. I thought the whole concept was so f**king cool. A great deal of what I wrote on ‘Born To Die’ is about these wilderness years."

   

6. Ringo Starr

   The former Beatle was a notable lush in the 1970s, hanging out with hell-raisers like Keith Moon and Harry Nilsson, but the drummer and his second wife Barbara Bach found things got so bad in the early 80s that the pair checked into rehab and haven't looked back. "I just couldn’t really move without alcohol," said Ringo.

   

7. Eminem

   After a near-fatal overdose in 2008, the US rapper kicked everything and marked 12 years sober in April 2020.

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8. Johnny Marr

   The former Smiths guitarist and solo artist has been sober since the mid-2000s, saying "If I thought that drugs and booze would make me a more interesting musician I would do it. I just don’t think it’s a particularly happening drug. I don’t think Bob Marley thought that either.”

   

9. Tom Chaplin

   Despite checking into rehab as far back as 2006, the Bedshaped singer struggled with substance abuse and almost died in 2015 after a three-day drugs and alcohol binge. "My addiction has caused mayhem in my life,” he told the Irish Examiner. “It has nearly killed me on many occasions." Thankfully, he's been sober for eight years.

   

10. Chris Martin

    Chris Martin is famous for his healthy lifestyle – you just need to look at him to see that. He doesn’t drink, smoke, or even sip coffee. Lily Allen claims that the Coldplay frontman even staged an intervention on her following an unpleasant night where she apparently head-butted actor Orlando Bloom. "I don’t do so well on drugs and alcohol, he told comedian Pete Holmes on hi podcast, You Made It Weird. "It messes with the music. Some people, it enhances it. For me, it doesn’t.'