English singer/songwriter Sir Elton John on Tuesday's premiere episode of the Archewell Audio podcast, hosted on Spotify by UK Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle, revealed that his Alcoholics Anonymous meetings on Zoom have been “a lifesaver” during the coronavirus pandemic.
The iconic pop superstar, who celebrated 30 years of sobriety earlier this year, said that the AA programme on the video conferencing platform is giving him a “great” opportunity to connect with old friends every week.
“I'm a recovering alcoholic so I have an AA meeting from this house every Sunday. I connect with my friends who I've known for over 30 years in the program, and that's great,” said John during the interview with Harry and Markle. “If it hadn't have been for Zoom, I don't know what we would've done, I really don't, without Zoom. It's been a lifesaver.”
The 73-year-old musician, who was in the middle of a farewell concert tour when the COVID-19 pandemic started and was forced to return home to England, said that he is “semi-diabetic, so I’m in a risky area there”.
In July 2020, John celebrated his 30th “sobriety birthday” on social media, saying that if he “hadn’t finally taken the big step of asking for help” from the AA programme in his struggle with drugs, alcohol, and his “worst best friend,” cocaine, he would “be dead”.
“Reflecting on the most magical day having celebrated my 30th Sobriety Birthday,” the artist wrote on Instagram in July. “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. Thank-you from the bottom of my heart to all the people who have inspired and supported me along the way.”
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John’s story with alcohol and drugs is now famous. However, in May 2019, the British musician narrated his experience with his now-old “best friends” to Variety.
“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,” he told the magazine in 2019. “I lost complete touch with that.”
“There were times I was having chest pains or staying up for three days at a time,” John continued. “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.”
On Tuesday, Elton John took part in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s newly-unveiled podcast, Archewell Audio, along with other celebrities like James Corden, Deepak Chopra and Jose Andres.
