You know how it goes, rock and roll usually conjure up images of, well, sex and drugs. Not so (at least the latter) for Judas Priest frontman, Rob Halford, who is celebrating the 34th anniversary of his sobriety and admits to taking it “one day at at a time”.
In 1986, the singer the decision to become clean and sober after his life began spiraling out of control due to drug and alcohol-related issues. He’s previously said that he thinks he’d be dead if he hadn’t given up the substances.
Rob Halford spoke to Backstage Acxxess about the struggle he battles with his sobriety and admits that he still has strong cravings.
“It is one day at a time,” he said. “Every time I see a commercial on television for a beer [laughs], I go, ‘God, I would love a cold beer.’ But I know I can’t, because I’d just be in a really sick place, I’d be in an unhealthy place again.
“The tough part is living on a day-to-day schedule,” he continued. “It’s even tougher when you’re on the road and you’re surrounded by guys that love to drink, and all my band loves to drink. But I have all the tools in place to avoid that temptation, which is just very easy to give in to on a spur of the moment, and then what you worked so hard for seems to have been lost. Having said that, yesterday’s gone — it doesn’t matter anymore; it’s gone. It’s all about living in the moment now.”
Halford isn’t one to shy from his experiences in hope that they can help others. He goes into depths about a lot of home-truths in his autobiography, Confess. Grateful for the second chance at life he’s received, Halford encourages anyone else in a similar situation to his to seek help.
“For people that are struggling with it, understand that you’re not alone, that there are literally millions, if not hundreds of millions, of us. And that doesn’t make it any easier, but I’d like people to understand that you are not alone, and there are incredible, much easier ways now of reaching out and finding help.
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“We’ve all got a cell phone, a smartphone, which is the start of the recovery journey. There are places you can go pretty much everywhere on the planet to attend meetings and see people that are going through the same wonderful challenges and great opportunities as yourself. Just don’t be afraid. ‘Cause it’s fear as well.”
Earlier this year the rocker also shared a nod to his sobriety on his official Facebook page. He posted an image of an Alcoholics Anonymous coin representing 34 years of sobriety alongside the caption, “Thank you for all the sober birthday love today maniacs… You mean the world to me and a shout out to my brothers and sisters on the same journey. One Day At A Time.”
Watch the full interview below:
