Rock'n'roll excess is all part of the job if you want to do it properly, and the biz is littered with tales – and casualties – of all manner of indulgences. But most seem to at least start with the demon drink. Here are ten examples of big boozers in music...
Ozzy Osbourne
Osbourne had been drinking in his San Antonio hotel room while on tour in 1982 and in his inebriated state he decided to don one of wife Sharon’s dresses and go sightseeing. Dressed as a woman, he then found himself caught short and ended up urinating on a plaque in memory of the defenders of The Alamo. The local police were not impressed.
Oasis
With the band on the cusp of success they set off for their first gigs abroad. But they didn't get very far. Heavy boozing on the cross channel ferry led to some scuffles and Liam Gallagher and bassist Paul McGuigan were duly arrested. To add insult to injury, guitarist Bonehead and drummer Tony McCarroll then got locked up for shoplifting.
Keith Moon
The Who's legendary drummer was one of the founding members of the The Hollywood Vampires – a legendary drinking club which included Alice Cooper, Harry Nilsson, Monkee Micky Dolenz, and John Lennon. Moon's problem was that his drinking often led to a desire to destroy things – usually hotel toilets with very powerful firecrackers.
Keith Richards
Too many boozing stories to count, but this one's a goody. It's1981, and the Stones are on a week off from their tour. Keef and Ron Wood embark upon a 48 hour booze and drugs fuelled writing session after which Richards is too wired to sleep. Pills are prescribed and are so successful he then cant be woken until some ice cold water is used. With everything already delayed, Keef then holds things up even more by insisting on a bottle of red wine for breakfast at the airport. Only Keef.
Shane MacGowan
The Pogues singer is rarely sober and likes to drink Martinis...by the pint. "I was actually four when I started drinking," he once said of his introduction to boozing. "I just remember that Ribena turned into stout and I developed an immediate love for it."
Alex James
Blur's bass player was a boozer first and a musician second, admitting in his recent book “A Bit of a Blur” that he got through £1 million on coke and champers, his chosen tipple. Now he makes cheese in the country and is teetotal.
Lemmy Kilminster
The hard living Motorhead frontman is seemingly indestructible well into his 60s. In an interview with The Guardian, he said the trick to never getting a hangover is to never be be entirely sober. Great advice from someone who has clearly done the research!
Amy Winehouse
Quite literally a wine house, Amy has had a troublesome relationship with booze. Her favourite cocktail is called a Rickstasy: three parts vodka, one part Southern Comfort, one part banana liquor and one part Baileys. "By the time you've had two of them you're like, don't even try and go anywhere,” she said. “Sit down and stay down, until the birds start singing."
Slash
The Guns N' Roses guitarist was very rarely seen without a cigarette and a bottle of Jack Daniels but these days its mineral water all the way. "Years of drinking had swollen my heart to the point of bursting," he once said. "It reached the point where the doctors gave me between six days and six weeks to live. They installed a defibrillator to keep my heart from stopping and keep it beating at a steady rate."
Iggy Pop
A man with a lust for life in more ways than one. In an interview he recalled driving a car after drinking a quart of tequila on top of a large dose of cocaine. A police chase ensued before Pop wrapped said vehicle around a stop sign. But miraculously he didn't test positive for alcohol. "The coke had just burnt the alcohol out of my system,” he said. “I wasn't legally drunk!”
