GOODBYE HANGOVER BRICK ROAD –
Jan. 15, 2024 – I wasn’t having a panic attack. I was simply having a conversation with the man who inspired me to turn my life around: Elton John. We were at his annual Aids Foundation Oscars party in Hollywood, and I finally had the chance to thank him in person for helping me in my journey to sobriety after years addicted to alcohol. We spoke about recovery, and I told him that the way he overcame his own problems had provided me with the blueprint that would save my life. He may have been wearing a pair of bright red heart-shaped sunglasses at the time, but he was extremely down-to-earth and gracious.
It had all started at the University of Bristol in 2009. I had a nascent drinking problem, but I was only 18. At that stage it was all just harmless fun. I was a student making friends at uni. I met my then girlfriend (now wife), Deborah. Someone down the corridor bought the DVD of Elton’s 60th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden. I was gobsmacked and fell in love with his live show. It wasn’t just Elton himself who I began to idolise, but also his longtime band members, drummer Nigel Olsson and guitarist Davey Johnstone.
