Ronnie Wood Recalls Giving Up Drinking and Drugs
Ronnie Wood discuses his successful attempt to give up drinking and drugs in a new clip from the documentary Somebody Up There Likes Me.
After a number of bids over the years, the Rolling Stones guitarist managed to clean up his act in 2009. He notes in the excerpt that he understands the difference between that attempt and the and previous ones.
“I thought I’d better change,” Wood said. “Change my way of thinking. Nothing was working … dope-wise. The coke wasn’t working. The drink wasn’t working. I’d try one more just to see if I could cut through it, and I’d turn into this sour person … and I thought, ‘This is not me.’” He added: “I took the ‘brave move’ again – but this time for myself – to abstain and try and clean up my act.”
In the clip, two of his bandmates talked about his success, with Mick Jagger saying, “It’s really hard to do, but he knew he wanted to do it … if you don’t want to do it, it’s really impossible.” Keith Richards, despite having giving his bandmate a hard time in 2009, noted, “Ronnie’s just built like that. He’s kind of like me — I’ve broken every bone in my body. He has a great immune system … in fact, he’s very like me, with a great pain threshold.”
Ronnie Wood Talks Drink and Drugs
“A man still at the cutting edge in his [70s], the film tells the story from his humble beginnings in north London, where his older brothers shaped the musical powerhouse he would become, to the unique career that has not only spanned over 50 years (so far) but also traversed some of the most influential musicians the world has ever known,” movie producers said in a statement. “Ronnie guides us on a journey through his life – painting and performing, accompanied by the friends, musicians and artists who have been part of his life over the years.”
Ronnie Wood: Somebody Up There Likes Me is streaming now and will be released in home video formats on Oct. 9.