Rock legend Paul Weller has spoken about his five years of sobriety since he decided to stop drinking alcohol.
The former Jam and Style Council front man has enjoyed a lot of success since his solo career took off in the 1990s, and now at the age of 56 he's opened up about his battle with the bottle in an interview with The Observer.
"As a musician, you're always celebrating or commiserating, and you need a drink for that. It was so much a part of my life," he said.
"I'd been doing it for 40 years. The hardest bit was going onstage without a drink, because I was so self-conscious.
"But I'm over that now. I like being present; I like being able to see and hear what’s going on, and seeing people and seeing their reaction."
Weller also admitted: "I miss the chaos and madness sometimes, but I can do without that for the benefits of not drinking. And I think if I had carried on as I was, I probably wouldn't be here.
"It was getting dark. Again, age. I keep going back to it, but you just can’t do the same thing, you know? I've seen lots of people who carry on, and you just think, ‘You ain't got long to go.’
"And after a while, you’re not funny anymore, you become an old drunk, you're just boring, and you talk the same shit. You look stupid. If you try to hang on to who you think you were, you end up being a parody of yourself."
